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MAY 12 1884 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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Ad Major em Mariae Gloriam. 



A DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORICAL 



SKETCH 



OF THE 



ACADEMY OF MOUNT ST. VINCENT 



ON-THE-HUDSON, 



NEW YORK CITY. 






1847-1884. 















" Dens caritas est." 




NEW YORK : 
D. APPLE TON AND COMPANY. 

1884. 



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Copyright, 1884, by 
"The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul." 



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SCALE 2O00 FEET TO 1 INCH. 
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DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



Should you prefer to drive to the Academy, the best and most 
direct road is a continuation of Broadway in New York to Kings- 
bridge, where, after crossing the bridge, you should turn to the left 
until you reach Riverdale Avenue ; a further drive along this mac- 
adamized avenue of two or three miles to the north will bring you 
to the grand entrance to the Academy grounds, situated on River- 




ENTRANCE TO GROUNDS — RIVERDALE AVENUE. 
Donors : Misses Mackty. 



dale Avenue, fifteen miles north of the City Hall, New York, and 
two miles south of Manor Hall, Yonkers. 



DESCRIP TIVE SKETCH. 




Mount St. Vincent is 
situated in the city of New 
York, and, as shown on the 
map, its northern boundary 
is for quite a space identi- 
cal with the northern boun- 
dary of the Twenty-fourth 
Ward. At your right, as 
you drive in, is the porter's 
lodge. Just within the en- 
trance, to the left, is the 
grotto of our Lady of 
Lourdes, a very special mon- 
ument in honor of the Im- 
maculate Mother of God. 
Within view of the main 
road at this point is a minia- 
ture lake, fed by the numer- 
ous springs in the vicinity. 

In the center of this lake 
is a small island, upon which 
a cave, or grotto, has been 
built, in imitation of that 
at Lourdes ; and, although 
it resembles more closely, 
perhaps, some classic ruin 
than a veritable production 
of nature, it still possesses 
the durability of beauty that 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



pertains to nature's works. The island is reached by rustic 
bridges which connect with the mainland ; the pilgrim passes 
under a quaintly fashioned and 
somewhat irregular archway, and 
is immediately in front of the 
grotto. Within is an exquisite 
statue of our Lady as she ap- 
peared to the favored Bernadette ; 
and, as the mellow-tinted light 
falls upon it through the unseen 
stained glass above, you might 
easily imagine yourself gazing upon a vision of the Immaculate 
Queen of Heaven herself — the wild beauty and calm stillness of 




VIEW FROM EN [KANCE. 
In memorial*! : Catherine Marshall. 







GROTTO OF LOURDES. 
Donor : Mrs. B. Kieland. 



the surrounding scenery serving to deepen the impression. The 
words "I am the Immaculate Conception" stand out in gold let- 



6 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

ters, and, to make the resemblance of the Lourdes grotto more 
complete, at the foot is a tiny marble font with the inscription, 
" Go to the fountain and drink." A handsomely ornamented gate 
protects the entrance, without, however, obstructing the view of 
the interior even to the most casual passer-by. Altogether, it is 
a spot, once seen, never to be forgotten. 

When Cardinal McCloskey visited Rome, in 1874, the Holy 
Father, at the intercession of his Grace, granted rare privileges to 
this shrine— favors which, even to the knowledge of the archbishop, 
had been denied to many other suppliants. The following is a free 
translation of the brief as it appears cut on a slah of marble, which 
is modeled after a celebrated Roman tablet, and set in the solid 
mason-work of the grotto : 

"PIUS IX, POPE, 

" FOR A PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE OF THE THING. 

" We willingly grant whatever seems to us to promote and cherish in the souls 
of the faithful, devotion to the Immaculate Mother of God. For we are most 
firmly convinced that the Blessed Virgin is moved by the prayers and piety of 
her children to obtain for them pardon and blessing for all Christian people from 
our Divine Redeemer. 

" Wherefore, hearkening to the petitions addressed to us in the name of our 
venerable brother, the Archbishop of New York, and of the Sisters of Charity 
under his direction, we graciously grant, through the mercy of God, a plenary 
indulgence to each and all of the faithful of both sexes, who, being truly peni- 
tent and having confessed and received Holy Communion, shall devoutly visit 
once the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, near the grotto called ' Our Lady 
of Lourdes,' in the Diocese of New York, and once the sacred image of the 
Mother of God therein (in the grotto), on any or every one of the following 
feasts : Of the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity, the Presentation, the Visita- 
tion, the Annunciation, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, from the begin- 
ning of the First Vespers (i. e., noon of the day preceding the feast), and on any 
and each of three days, to be once and forever named by the ordinary of the 




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DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. Q 

diocese, from sunrise to sunset, each year, and shall there devoutly pray God for 
peace among all Christian rulers, for the extirpation of heresy, for the conversion 
of sinners, and for the exaltation of our Holy Mother the Church. 

" Moreover, we grant to each and all of the faithful a partial indulgence of 
seven years and seven times forty days, on whatsoever day they, being at least 
contrite of heart, shall visit said church and sacred image of the Blessed Virgin 
for a brief space of time, and pray for the above-named intentions. And we 
grant, finally, that each and all of the aforesaid indulgences may be applied, by 
way of relief, to the souls of the faithful departed, notwithstanding anything to 
the contrary. 

" These presents are good for the present and for all future time. 

" Given at St. Peter's, Rome, under the seal of the Fisherman, September the 
fifteenth, MDCCCLXXIV, the XXIX year of Our Pontificate. 

[Seal.] "»}.T. Card. Asquini." 

" We appoint the three additional days as follows : The Feast of St. Vincent 

de Paul, of St. Joseph, and of St. John the Baptist. 

"»I«John Cardinal McCloskey, 

Archbishop of New York. 
" J. M. Farley, Secretary. 

" New York, April 9, 1875." 

We believe the above-cited brief was the first document signed 
by the archbishop after his elevation to the cardinalate. 

Regaining the main road once more, you pursue your way, 
passing on the right a picturesque stone cottage and large stone 
stables and barn, built by Mr. Forrest, the celebrated actor; and, 
on looking to the southeast, you perceive a pathway leading to 
the Free School. The road leads down an easy descent, from the 
top of which you can get a passing glimpse of the white crosses 
in the Sisters' Cemetery, which lies to the extreme right, and of 
the little shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, within the cemetery. 
Onward we go until we reach the rustic gate, which bars the en- 
trance to a private road leading down to the rear of the Academy. 



IO 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



The principal drive at this point bears to the left, and curves 
into an avenue skirted with beautiful trees. On the right can be 




STONE COTTAGE. 
Donor : Catherine dwelt. 



seen the fair shrine of Our Lady of the Fountain topping the 
green hill-side, and on the left you can look down upon a wild spot 
— " The Ravine " — in which a pretty little shrine of the angels hal- 




CURVED ROADWAY. 
Donors : The Misses Ferrall. 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



1 1 



lows the inclosure to the " Angels' Spring." This shrine is a 
thanks-offering for the discovery — October 2, 1867 — of the never- 




STEAM LAUNDRY. 



failing spring that bubbles beneath. The large steam-laundry is at 
the foot of this ravine. Turning a curve in front of the massive 




JUARDIAN ANGEL AND CHILD. 
Donor : Lilliiui Doyle. 



statue of the Guardian Angel and Child, which gives name to 
this roadway, you reach 



12 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

Fonthill Castle, 

which, combining the Gothic and Norman styles of architecture, 
attracts the attention of all who pass up and down the river. * 
The castle consists of six octagon towers joined to one another, 
and rising to different heights, the battlements of some being 
notched with embrasures, and those of others capped with solid 
corniced coping. The highest, the staircase tower, rises about 
sixty-five or seventy feet from the base. The others are named 
the center tower, the main tower, the library tower, the drawing- 
room tower, and the dining-hall tower. The basement contains 
the kitchen, cellars, furnace, etc. The drawing-room, library, bou- 
doir, and dining-hall are on the first floor, f The library is now 
converted into a 

Mineral Cabinet, 

of great value and beauty. The library-cases were removed to the 
Academy, and replaced by some which were fitted expressly for the 
exhibition of the minerals. This cabinet contains the entire "Ar- 
nold Collection," donated to the institution, July, 1872, by Dr. 
Edmund S. F. Arnold, of Newport, who devoted many months to 
the classification and cataloguing of the same. The cabinet con- 
tains about fourteen hundred valuable specimens, without counting 
the duplicates placed elsewhere. The room being octagonal in 

* The castle in its exterior somewhat resembles the strongholds of those old Norman 
barons who at one time held sway over England, and whose descendants even to the pres- 
ent time retain possession of the land which they wrested from the people. Its greatest 
length is seventy-five feet and its greatest width forty-five feet. 

+ The library is a beautiful room ; the floor is formed of a variety of woods — mahogany, 
black-walnut, satin-wood, oak, pine, and others — and the combination has a peculiarly 
pleasing effect. 




< <5 



"3 



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DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



form, we see only a small portion of the cabinet in the engraving. 
It undoubtedly ranks among the very first of the private collec- 




MINERAL CABINET. 
Donor : Mary E. Dodge. 



tions in the United States. There is also a representative collec- 
tion of shells and birds ; the latter are arranged in what was called 
the 

Drawing-Room. 

In the center of this room is a case of rare antique coins, collected 
and presented by that accomplished scholar, John Gilmary Shea, 
LL. D., of Elizabeth, New Jersey. The catalogue of the collection 
has been tastefully and beautifully illuminated by his gifted daugh- 
ter. Miss Emma G. Shea. These coins possess great historical 
value : one is the coin of the tribute ; another belongs to the 
time of Julian the Apostate; and still another commemorates the 
vanity of the Emperor Caligula, who, wishing to gain the glory of 
a triumph, went with his army to the sea-shore, collected a few 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



15 



shells, and returned to enjoy the coveted honor. These are but a 
few of the many interesting pieces. 

The center tower comprises a vestibule leading into a magnifi- 
cent rotunda, which occupies about one sixth of the space of the 




NATURAL HISTORY ROOM. 
Donors : The Mints 'Rorkt 



whole castle. It is lighted by a glass dome, and the floor is of 
encaustic tiling of a tesselated pattern. The form of the hall is 
octagonal, and a gallery, the facing of which is composed of a 
series of Norman arches, runs round its eight sides at a height of 
about sixteen feet from the floor. The ceiling is also in the Nor- 
man style, and is deeply groined — a feature in admirable uniformity 
with the general style of the structure. Large, grotesque-looking 
heads of men and animals, carved out of solid oak, look down 
upon you from above the gallery. The upper rooms form sleep- 
ing-apartments for the resident chaplain, etc. One is designated 

the " Cardinal's room." 
3 



1 6 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

The staircase tower has a spiral granite staircase, inserted in a 
solid brick column, rising from the basement to the top of this 
the highest tower, and with landings on each floor leading to good- 
sized apartments. From the highest point of this tower a cross of 
rare beauty of outline is now displayed, thus denoting the religious 
character of the present occupants of the castle, and the new pur- 
poses to which it is devoted. 

The castle, as we have remarked, combines both the Norman 
and the Gothic styles, softened in some of their details so as to 
embrace the graces of modern times. For instance, the cabinet, 
drawing-room, and dining-hall are lighted with deep, square bay- 
windows, while the windows of the boudoir and upper rooms are 
of the Gothic order. In other portions of the castle are to be 
seen the rounded windows of the Norman period, with their solid 
stone mullions dividing the compartments again into pointed 
Gothic. Loop-holes and buttresses are not wanting to impart the 
appearance of a regularly fortified castle. There are two grand 
entrances : one from the east, the other exactly opposite, on the 
river-front, each leading into the octagonal hall of the center tower. 

The site was well chosen. From the top of the staircase tower 
one can see as far as Sing Sing on one side, and Staten Island on 
the other. On the opposite side the stately Palisades rise precipit- 
ously from the river's bank ; on the north lie the city of Yonkers, 
the towns of Hastings and Nyack, the pretty little hamlet at Tap- 
pan's Bay, and the village of Piermont, with its white cottages 
glistening like shells on the distant shore. 

The castle is built of silicious granite of a gray color, of 
extraordinary hardness, and of a much finer grain than the com- 
mon Boston granite. The walls are not only composed of this 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. X j 

material, but the entire castle stands upon an immense bed of the 
same. 

Having made the tour of the castle, and gazed upon the gro- 
tesque faces and exquisitely carved tracery over the picture-gallery, 
perhaps you will wonder whether Fonthill Castle borrows its name 
from that marvelous architectural creation of Beckford, and known 
in England as Fonthill Abbey. We know not ; some say it does, 
others that our American castle derives its name from a local 
peculiarity. Mr. Forrest never passed even one night in his castle, 
and poor Beckford could not rest in his. Yet both these person- 
ages will live in the minds of men : one as one of the grandest 
impersonators of the greatest characters of Shakespeare, the other 
as the eccentric author of Vathek, and as a builder of two or three 
Fonthill towers. 

Coming out of the castle by the eastern entrance, we find our- 
selves in front of the Academy of Mount St. Vincent, which is 
thus situated in the midst of most beautiful surroundings. Spread 
out before it is the grand panorama of the Hudson. Such sce- 
nery can hardly be equaled in classic Europe itself; for, after all 
that has been said and written about the Rhine and the Fo and 
the Adige, can any one of them surpass the Hudson in sublime 
and picturesque scenery? It certainly comprises all the beauties 
of European landscapes, and at the same time a wild and sub- 
lime grandeur peculiarly its own. The Palisades, rising in solemn 
stateliness, form a wall of beauty along the western shore of the 
mighty river — mighty in its charms, and more than the " Rhine of 
America." 

The Hudson, it is true, has none of those old ruins which give 
such attractiveness to the great rivers of Europe to which we 







° 5 






DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. Ig 

have just alluded ; but its historic associations are no less inspiring. 
The thriving cities and towns that dot its banks almost from its 
source to its confluence with the waters of the ocean are substi- 
tutes for the crumbling ruins of feudal strongholds, which bespeak 
a past that, with all its noble traits of chivalry and stern devotion 
to principle and truth, tell of a time of strife and bloodshed — a 
time when men must inevitably have relapsed into barbarism but 
for the civilizing, reforming, and humanizing influence of holy 
Church. 

Here from the elevation on which the Academy stands we have 
an uninterrupted view of the scenery up the Hudson for a distance 
of many miles, and away to the south we descry Staten Island, 
while we divine the position of the great metropolis by the 
clouded atmosphere which veils it from view. At the base of the 
Palisades — most remarkable specimens of trap-rock — flows the great 
river, with its ever-changing, ever-moving panorama of busy, active 
life, bearing upon its bosom the products of the Great West. 

Not far away are Yonkers and the picturesque village of Tar- 
rytown, so celebrated in Revolutionary history from being in close 
proximity to the spot where Major Andre was captured. Near 
by, too, is Sleepy Hollow, immortalized by Irving. There are, 
indeed, many places of legendary and Revolutionary interest in 
this vicinity. 

The grounds on which the Academy is situated are admirably 
adapted to its purposes. They are intersected by numerous prom- 
enades, some of which are cut through the grove, which affords a 
cool and delightful retreat on warm days. The recreation-grounds 
occupy about ten acres, and embrace a variety of hill and lawn, of 
wood and ravine. Shady seats are provided at various points, and 



20 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

croquet-grounds are located in the rear of the house. A flagged 
walk extends in curves along the road through the grounds from 
the depot to the entrance, a distance of three quarters of a mile. 

Having described the character of the locality in which the 
Academy is situated, we shall now describe the building itself. It 
is constructed in the Byzantine style, the ground plan being in the 
form of a parallelogram, with projections on the longer sides. The 
principal of these projections are formed by the tower, as seen in 
the frontispiece. The chapel, which is in the rear of the building, 
is so constructed that a portion of it is within the edifice, by 
which arrangement it can be entered either from the Academy or 
convent, both of which, although within the same structure, are yet 
as distinct as if they were separate houses. A large extension, one 
hundred by sixty feet, projects from the southeast corner of the 
parallelogram, and a corresponding one is situated on the northeast 
corner. The other projections, except the kitchen, besides those 
we have mentioned, are simply the extension of a portion of the 
building beyond the front line of the ground plan. These projec- 
tions give an increase of space. The greatest length of the build- 
ing, including the extensions, is four hundred and sixty-seven feet, 
and its greatest depth, including the chapel, one hundred and 
eighty-six. The central tower rises to one hundred and eighty 
feet, and its summit is four hundred feet above the level of the 
river. High up in this tower stands a large tower-clock, whose 
hammer strikes on a sweet-toned bell of twelve hundred and 
twenty-eight pounds weight. The clock was put in position May 
22, 1877, the day on which the Golden Jubilee of the late Holy 
Father was celebrated. It was made to strike fifty times on that 
joyous occasion. At the foot of this tower is a spacious porch, 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



21 




BALCONY OF ACADEMY. 
Donor : Maria L. Feury. 



forty feet square and twenty-six high, forming an admirable balcony. 
Double verandas extend along the river-front, making in all over 
five hundred feet of pleasant promenade. 







GRAND ENTRANC1 

Donor: Jane P. Thompson. 



22 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



The front entrance, fifteen feet high, is reached by a double 
flight of steps. Having ascended these, you enter the first vesti- 




RFCErTlON-ROOM. 
Donors : The Misses Keilly. Jersey City. 



bule, finished with groined ceilings and rich moldings. Passing 
on to a second vestibule, ornamented in a different style from 




R.EI I PTION-ROOM. 
Donor : Olive Chatjield. 



the first, having coved ceilings and four frescoed medallions in 
vignette of St. Vincent de Paul, you reach the main hall. Pur- 
suing your way, you pass between fine busts of Pius IX and 
Archbishop Hughes, and as you now stand you occupy the line 
that divides the building, the southern half being devoted to the 
Academy. 

The vestibules and entrance-hall are tiled with white and black 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



23 




RECEPTION-ROOMS. SECTIONAL VIEW, LOOKING SOUTH. 
Donors : The Misses Keilly, A'ew York. 

diamond-shaped blocks of marble. To the right and left as you 
enter are suites of reception-rooms ; and, directly in front of the 
entrance, folding-doors lead into the 



Chapel, 

which is, with its recent addition of 1874, one hundred and thirty- 
five feet long by fifty-eight wide, and forty-eight feet high. The 
sanctuary is a gem of beauty ; the altar-piece and the Angels of 
the Passion were painted by Brumidi in oil-fresco. During his 

long residence at the castle while executing his brilliant work, 
4 




CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
In Memoriam : Julia Farrell. 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 25 

Brumidi became so enamored with the beauty of the surroundings 
at Mount St. Vincent that he wept like a child on taking his 
final leave. The sanctuary is a monument to the generosity of 
devoted friends. The expense of the canopy over the main altar, 
the altar of St. Joseph, the communion railing — all of purest white 
marble — together with the decoration of the entire chapel, was 
borne by the late Rev. Michael Curran, of New York. The white 
marble altar of the Blessed Virgin is the joint gift of Mr. and 
Mrs. Thomas C. Cornell, of Yonkers, New York. The fine organ 
built by Hilbourne Roosevelt, is the gift of the late Rev. John B. 
Daly, of New York. The high altar was donated by Thomas E. 
Davis, Esq., and was privileged in perpetuity by the late Holy 
Father, Pope Pius the Ninth. The three altars were solemnly 
consecrated March 25, 1874, by the Right Rev. Francis McNierny, 
D. D., Bishop of Albany, to whom his Eminence, the Cardinal 
Archbishop of New York, had delegated for the occasion every 
privilege of office. 

At the south side of the sanctuary there is an extension, forming 
a side-chapel, about thirty by thirty feet, for the accommodation of 
the domestics connected with the institution. In the correspond- 
ing extension on the north side are two sacristies, both amply 
furnished. 

Passing down the middle aisle of the chapel we can see two 
beautiful paintings in oil-fresco, in the upper sections just outside 
the sanctuary — the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation of 
the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple. 

The next point of interest is the 



26 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 
Grand Study Hall, 



one hundred by sixty, and twenty-eight feet high. The com- 
mencement exercises are held here, and during sessions the senior 
and special classes use this hall for study, recreation, etc. 




GRAND STUDY HALL. 
Donors : The Misses Dunphy. 



Ascending the broad staircase outside the folding-doors by 
which we gain admittance to the grand study hall, we find our- 
selves in the 

Music Hall, 

into which twenty-three distinct music-rooms open. The hall itself 
is about thirty feet by sixty, and serves admirably for rehearsals, 
musical readings, etc. 

From the first opening of the institution, in 1847, the profess- 
ors of music have been distinguished. Mrs. M. E. Lacey, who still 
holds a signal rank in her profession, was among its first teachers. 

Very soon after the removal of the Academy from the Central 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



2 7 



Park to its present location, Mr. Gustavus Schmitz, organist of the 
old St. Patrick's Cathedral, assumed charge of the vocal and instru- 




MUSIC HALL. 
Donor: William F. Pecker. 



mental departments, and continued his labors with rare success to 
within a few months before his death, in 1876. He identified 
himself with his work at the Mount, and imparted his own enthu- 
siastic love of his art to his many pupils, by whom he is remem- 
bered as a teacher of great ability and of exalted character. 

He has been most worthily succeeded by Mr. William F. 
Pecher, organist of the new St. Patrick's Cathedral. Mr. Pecher, 
declining to take charge of the vocal department, happily secured 
the distinguished services of Mr. Emilio Agramonte, who is as 
untiring as himself in imparting knowledge. Thus, pupils having 
a special talent for music, and desirous of devoting time to the 



»8 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



highest culture therein, have every opportunity afforded them for a 
thorough study of the science. 

A singular impetus to the study of music has been given by 




GUSTAVIS SCHMITZ. 
Donors : His nieces — the Misses Grosz. 



the foundation of four medals — two of gold, for excellence in 
instrumental and vocal, and two of silver, for the second in merit. 

These exquisitely wrought medals were founded in 1881 in the 
vocal department, and in the following year those for the other 
department were added by the same liberal benefactress who has 
very amply endowed them. 

We transcribe her letter : 

" Paris, a 24 Mars 1881. 
" Madame la Supirieure de l ' Acadhnie de Mt. St. Vincent. 

"Madame: Ayant toujours pris un grand interet aux instituts d'enseignement 
diriges par des corporations religieuses, et ayant et6 moi-meme eleve au Convent 
du St. Nora de Jesus a Toulouse, je prends la liberie de m'adresser a. vous, par 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 29 

1'entremise de mon beau-frere M. Emile Agramonte, qui m'a donne les renseigne- 
ments les plus favorables sur l'Academie de Mt. St. Vincent a laquelle vous pre- 
sidez si dignement. 

" Comme je possede une fortune considerable, je me propose d'offrir deux 
medailles, une en or et l'autre en argent. Ces deux medailles, que nous appele- 
rons celles de Ste. Cecile, en honneur de la patronne de la musique, seront dis- 
tributes aux deux eleves qui se seront les plus distinguees dans un concours qui 
aura lieu devant un juree de connaisseurs dans l'art du chant dans l'academie et 
auquel l'arrangement du dit concours appartiendra. 

" Esperant que vous voudrez bien accepter ma modeste offrande, je suis, ma- 
dame, Votre humble servante, 

"(Dolores Fernandez Bramosio) Mme. de Aris-Agramonte." 

September 1, 1881, Mine. Agramonte was married to Prince 
Dominique Radziwill, now of Paris. 



Rules of the Instrumental and Vocal Competitions for 
the St. Cecilia Gold am> Silver Medals. 

1. Both competitions shall take place either in the last week 
of May or the first week in June. 

2. To be a competitor in either department a pupil must have 
studied music in such department of the Academy two consecutive 
years, and by the date of competition must have merited an aver- 
age of eighty per cent — that is the largest number possible. 

3. The selections for the competitions shall be announced be- 
fore or immediately after the Christmas holidays. 

4. There shall be three judges : the Academy chooses one, the 
professor one, and the professor of instrumental music shall be the 
third in the vocal competition and the professor of vocal music in 
the instrumental competition. Should either professor have pupils 
of his in the other department, and, in consequence, feel unwilling 



30 



?( UPTIVE SKETCH, 



to act as judge, he ma) name some one to acl For him, or request 
the two judges chosen to appoint a third. 

5, The medals shall be awarded, in the presence of the supe- 
rioress and directress, to the first and second competitors in the 
ordei of merit. A written document stating the result shall be 
signed by all the judges, but shall be kept private until the com- 
mencement 

6. A pupil to whom the silver medal has been adjudged is tree 
to compete again for the higher medal. 

l 'in- senior classes may be present at the competition. 




\ . \ 



DESCRII' Tl I ■/■: SKETCH. 

On the floor above the music hall is the oratory of 



3i 



Mater A dmi kahilis, 

to which so many privileges are attached, through the instance of 
his Eminence the Cardinal. The following is a transcript of the 
tablet on the wall of the oratory : 

"Indulgences granted by our Holy Father, Pope Pius the 
Ninth, to the oratory of the Most Holy Virgin, known under the 
title of Mate)- Admirabilis, at the Convent of Mount St. Vincent, 
confirmed in perpetuity at the request of the Most Rev. [now 




ORATORY MATER ADMIRABILIS. 
Donor: Julia Rtgina Spellman. 



Cardinal] John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, July 30, 
1865 : 

" 1. Once a year, at the choice of the Sisters, to the pupils and 

others living in the convent, who, after having confessed and com- 

5 



32 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

municated, shall visit the oratory and pray for the intentions of 
the Sovereign Pontiff. 

" 2. Twice a month, on the above conditions. This indulgence 
extends to priests who are in the habit of saying mass in this ora- 
tory, and to all in any way connected with the duties of the house. 
In cases of illness and infirmity, these indulgences can be gained 
by the confessor assigning some other good works instead of 
those prescribed. 

" 3. To all the Sisters, pupils, and others who reside in the con- 
vent, as also to the faithful of either sex who, having confessed 
and communicated, shall visit the oratory on the twentieth of Oc- 
tober, the day on which, by a special privilege, the Feast of the 
A/ost Holy Virgin, under the title of Mater Admirabilis, is cele- 
brated, and also on the following feasts : Christmas, the Circum- 
cision, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Immaculate 
Conception, Nativity, Annunciation, Purification and Assumption 
of the Blessed Virgin, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and of 
St. John the Evangelist. 

" Partial Indulgences. 

" 1. Seven years and seven quarantains on the feasts of the 
other apostles to all who visit said oratory, and, with contrite 
heart, pray for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff. 

" 2. Three hundred days' indulgence to all the faithful who 
recite the 'Ave Maria' and the invocation, 'Mater Admirabilis, 
Cra pro nobis' three times before the representation of the Most 
Holy Virgin in the above-mentioned oratory. 

" All these indulgences are applicable to the souls in pur- 
gatory." 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



33 



Class-Rooms, 

There are fifteen cheerful class-rooms, large and well-ventilated 
The Kindergarten and junior classes are on the first floor, the 




UNI) K RGR A li I A TES ROOM. 
Donor: Emma G. ffannon. 



middle and special classes on the second, and the senior classes on 

the third. 

Tin-: Printing-office 

is on the floor above the oratory, but in the northeast corner of 
the building. Catalogues, programmes, and many small volumes 
for the Sisters' private use, have been printed here; also a truly 




PRINTING-OFFICE. 

Potior: Angela Keenan, 



magnificent quarto edition of the " Conferences of St. Vincent de 
Paul," containing about twelve hundred pages. 



34 



In 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



The Dormitories 



there are seventeen large sleeping-apartments occupied by the 
pupils, and it is probable the number will be much increased on 
the completion of the north wing of the institution, the founda- 




DORMITORY. 
Donir : Mary G. Smith. 



tions of which will be laid this autumn (1883). Alcoves or pri- 
vate toilet-rooms are arranged along the partitions. Even the 
walls of these rooms are carefully ventilated, and the best sanitary 
regulations are enforced. 

Descending (unless you wish to ascend the one hundred and 
forty-two steps of the tower), we will visit first the 



Art-Room. 

This room is twenty-five by forty-three feet. It is almost a pity 
that all the fine paintings, etc., possessed by the institution are not 
grouped in one gallery. We append a list of the principal oil- 
paintings : 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



35 




ART-ROOM. 
Donor; Annie L. Boyle. 



Gifts to the Art Department. 



" The Ecce Homo." (Oils.) After Carlo Dolci. 

Donor : Miss Greene, of New York. (1847.) 
" St. Catharine of Bologna." (Oils.) 

Donor : Rev. Jos. A. Lutz, New York. (1847.) 
" Mater Dolorosa." (Oils.) 

Donor : Miss Greene, of New York. (1847.) 
"St. Basil." (Painted on Copper.) 

Donor : Very Rev. John Powers, D. D., V. G. (1847.) 
"The Holy Family," Correggio. (Oils.) 

Donor: An Artist Friend. (1856.) 
Two fine Paintings of "St. Francis of Assissium." (Oils.) 

Donor : A Clergyman, (i860.) 
Life-size Painting of our Lord. (Sacred Heart.) (Oils.) 

Donor: Rev. William PlowJcn Morrogh, D. D., New York, (i860.) 
"The Old and the New Law," an allegorical painting. (Oils.) 

Donor : Most Rev. John Hughes, D. D. (i860.) 
" St. Jerome's Last Communion." (Oils.) Domenichino. Copied in Rome. 

Donor: Chas. Gibbons, Esq., New York. (1861.) 
"Our Lady of Rimini." "Our Lady of Perseverance." "Our Lady of 
Sorrows." (Oils.) 

Donor : Rev. Edward Mc Glynn, D.D., New York. (1866.) 



36 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

" St. Anthony of Padua." (Oils.) After Murillo. 

Donor: Jas. Con ray, Esq., of New York. (1867. 
"The Annunciation." (Oils.) A Florentine painting after Guido Reni. 

Donor : Michael Gcrnon, Esq., New Orleans. (1867. 
" Mater Dolorosa." (Oils.) 

Donor: Rev. Nicholas O'Donnell, of Brooklyn. (1867. 
Portrait of the Most Rev. John Hughes, D. D. (Oils.) Healy. 

Donor: His Eminence Cardinal McCloskey. (1867. 
" Mater Admirabilis." Roman Engraving. 

Donor : Very Rev. IVm. Starrs, D. D., V. G. (1867. 
"St. Francis de Sales." (Oils.) 

Donor: A Lady of New York. (1867. 
"St. Jerome." (Steel Line Engraving.) 

Donor : Mrs. Coffey, Brooklyn. (1867. 
"Life Duties of the Sisters of Charity." (Oils.) Galliardi, Rome. 

Donor: Hon. John Kelly, Neiv York. (1873. 
" St. Vincent de Paul." " Madame le Gras." (Oils.) Copied from origi- 
nal portraits. 

Donor: A Lady of New York. (1874. 
"Crucifixion Group, and the Angels of the Passion." Oil-Fresco, Brumidi. 

Donor: Rev. M. Curran, of New York. (1874. 
Portrait of the Very Rev. Wm. Starrs, D. D., V. G. 

Donor: A Lady of New York. (1874. 
" The Sistine Madonna." (Oils.) Copied in Dresden. 

Donor : Miss Eugenie Dolan, of Boston. (1875. 
"St. Jerome." (Oils.) 

Donor : Rev. M. P. O'Earrell, New York. (1875. 
"The Last Supper," after Leonardo da Vinci. (Swiss Carving.) 

Donor: Rev. Thomas Mooncy, New York. (1875. 
"The Good Shepherd." (Swiss Carving.) 

Donor : Prof. Jas. Montcith, New York. (1876. 
"Seven Etchings of great merit." 

Donor : J. Karst, Esq., of New York. (1879. 
A Set of Models in Plaster, including Michael Angelo's " Moses." 

Donor : G. P. Morosini, Esq., New York. (1879. 
"Christ Talking to the Woman of Samaria." (Oils.) Florentine Painting. 

Donor : James Otey Bradford, U. S. N. (1880. 
"St. Peter Curing the Lame Man." (Painted on Copper.) 

Donor: A. Dowdney, Esq., of New York. (1880. 
"Louis Sixteenth surrounded by his Family." Engraving. 

Donor: A lady of New York. (1880. 
"Christ Talking to the Samaritan Woman." 

Donor: Airs. Wm. Cash/nan, San Francisco. (1883. 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



37 



Statuary. 

" Our Lord and the Apostles." After Thorwaldsen. 
" Life-size Statue of St. Vincent de Paul." 

Donor : Mr. Beck, Danish Consul. (1849.) 
" Bust of the Most Rev. John Hughes, D. D." 

Donor: A lady of New York, (i860.) 
" Christmas Group, Manger, and Eight Life-size Statues." Munich. 

Donor: Rev. Wm. H. dowry. (1867.) 
" Statue of the Sacred Heart." Life-size. 

Donor: A lady of New York. (1867.) 
" Mater Amabilis." (Classic.) 

Donor: Anonymous. (1S69.) 

" The Repose of Jesus in the Arms of St. Joseph." Life-size. 

Donor: A lady of New York. (1869.) 
" A Crucifix." (St. Louis), 4^ ft. Masterpiece. 

Donor: Rev. Eugene Maguire, of New York. (1872.) 
" St. Anthony of Padua." 

Donor: Mrs. C. Bruguiere, of New York. (1873.) 

" Bust of His Holiness Pius the Ninth." 

Donors: Three ladies of New York. (1876.) 
" Our Lady of Victory." (Bronze. ) 

Donor : Win. If. Sadlier, Esq., New York. (1876.) 



The Refectory 

is a large room, about forty by fifty feet. There is another 
refectory for the middle and junior classes. 



smaller 




PUPILS REFECTORY. 
Donors: The Misses Kentpston. 



Perhaps we have tarried quite long enough within-doors, and, 
if so, let us go out and meet our friends who are coming by rail. 
They alight on the platform at the right, and cross to the 



38 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



Mount St. Vincent Station, 
which is most picturesquely situated on the southern point of a 
small headland, running out opposite the castle, and extending 
northward along the whole frontage of the Academy, and forming, 
with the river's bank, a little sheltered cove or battery, from whieh 
a fine boat-landing extends. Northward from the landing are large 
bath-houses for the convenience of the pupils ; the water being 




MOUNT ST. VINCENT STATION. 
Donors : Misses Reitty, Jersey City. 



quite brackish, many of the advantages of regular sea-bathing re- 
sorts are enjoyed here. This little cape, covered with trees, is 
separated from the Academy lawn by the track of the Hudson 
River Railroad. Over the cut of the railroad, which is thirty feet 
in depth, is thrown a strong foot and carriage bridge, thus con- 
necting the beach with the grounds. 

Now we find ourselves in full view of the Academy and castle, 
and before us stretches an undulating lawn. At our left is a rustic 
summer-house, commanding a full view of the river, railroad, and 



40 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



lawn ; to the right, a beautiful shrine, inclosing a life-size statue of 
St. Joseph. Farther up, along the curved roadway and flagged 
sidewalk, we approach the fountain called " Mater Divinae Gratise," 




MATER DIVIN.B GRATI/E. 
In Memoriam : Ellen C. Kent. 




VIEW OF CASTLE FROM TERRACE. 
Donor : A nnie I lagan. 



at the foot of the terraces. Along by the basin of this fountain is 
the Cardinal's favorite walk, and to the left we can see his shel- 
tered seat. 




VIEW OF TERRACE FROM FOOT-rATH. 
Donor : Kiltie Yates Hagan. 



Winding our way easterly around the castle, we obtain a trans- 
verse view of the terrace. 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



41 



Approaching the front entrance of the institution, we see, about 
one hundred yards onward, the shrine of 

St. Vincent de Paul, 

containing a large statue of the saint. It was presented by Mr. 
Beck, Danish consul in 1849. Shall we now continue our drive 




SHRINK OF ST. VINCENT HE PAUL. 
In Metnoriam : Cecilia Casey. 



along the tortuous road leading to the rear of the Academy and 
to the shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which contains a life- 







ROADWAY NEAR GROTTO. 
Donor : Nellie E. V. Hagan. 



size statue of our Lord, and is enriched with special indulgences, 
obtained by his Eminence Cardinal McCloskey on the occasion of 



42 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 



his visit to Rome in 1875 ; so that, on the usual conditions, a 
plenary indulgence can be obtained by visiting this shrine on the 
Feast of the Sacred Heart and on the first Friday of every month? 
Trusting that you will alight to say some devout prayers at this 
favored spot, we invite you to drive on through the rustic entrance 
to the main road and along Riverdale Avenue to 

St. Vincent's Free School, 

which is situated near the corner of Riverdale Avenue arid the 
road running along the southern boundary of the Academy prem- 
ises. Half an acre of ground, with a frontage of one hundred and 
thirty-three feet on the roadway, has been set apart for the Free 
School. The building itself is of brick, sixty-four by ninety feet, 




^^^^W^Svais^!^ 



ST. Vincent's free school. 
Donor : Elizabeth McEnroe. 



with a high stone basement. Two large furnaces are in this base- 
ment, which is divided into spacious halls, affording ample room 
for recreation in unpleasant weather. 

There are four class-rooms in the first story, each thirty by 
thirty feet, and fifteen feet high ; two smaller rooms, a very pleas- 
ant reception-room, and a cloak-room, thirteen by fourteen feet. 



DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 43 

Two winding staircases lead up to the grand hall. The hall is 
sixty feet square and sixteen feet high. Its stage is on an elevated 
platform, twelve by twenty-eight feet, with two pleasant rooms on 
either side, and a large lobby and hallway in front of each room. 

One side of the class-room floor is appropriated to boys and 
the other to girls, each side with separate grounds, gateways, and 
entrances, and with separate and roomy stairways leading to the 
grand hall. 

The entire building is well heated, lighted with gas, and fur- 
nished throughout with all modern appliances and' school-fixtures. 
About one hundred and thirty pupils from the neighborhood have 
been in regular attendance since the opening of this school in Sep- 
tember, 1876; and, after the wear and tear of seven years, the fur- 
niture and entire building look as fresh and new as when it was 
opened. Every succeeding Christmas-tide convenes an immense 
crowd to view the beautiful crib, which is always arranged with 
taste, devotion, and exceeding care, in the recess formed by the 
stage in the grand hall. 

St. Vincent's Free School is a monument to the zeal and piety 
of the pupils of Mount St. Vincent. It cost as it now stands, 
without the ground, about twenty-seven thousand dollars. Miss 
Elizabeth E. Duffy, deceased, a former pupil, left a legacy to the 
Academy of Mount St. Vincent, without designating any special 
object to which she wished it to be devoted ; a clerical friend, the 
Rev. John B. Daly, had given several thousand dollars to be used 
for some charitable purpose ; and the former and present pupils of 
the Academy, in 1874 and 1876, contributed or transmitted funds 
amounting to several thousand. These moneys paid for the erec- 
tion of the school-house. Mrs. John Purcell, for a long time a 



44 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH. 

domestic at Mount St. Vincent, gave an amount sufficient to fur- 
nish the entire building. Thomas C. Cornell, Esq., of Yonkers, 
New York, whose name is identified with the rise and progress 
of religion and education in this vicinity, contributed his invaluable 
services as architect and superintendent. 

The school is supported without public aid ; the classes are 
graded ; and music-lessons are given to such as evince a talent for 
music. 

In front of St. Vincent's Free School, which is near Riverdale 
Avenue, there is a direct roadway extending along the southern 
boundary of the Academy premises to the Mount St. Vincent 
Railway Station. This road or lane was opened, to exclude public 
travel from the Academy grounds. 




feC,^^/>&- :W 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OF THE 



ACADEMY MOUNT ST. VINCENT, 



FROM ITS OPENING IN 1S47 TO 1883. 



The institution now so beautifully situated on the majestic 
banks of the " Rhine of America " was first located on an emi- 
nence overlooking Harlem, Astoria, and Yorkville, and designated 
on all State maps as " McGowan's Pass." Manhattan Island could 




OLD MOUNT ST. VINCENT, IOgTH STREET AND FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK. 
Donors : The Misses Mackay. 



not have furnished for an educational establishment a fairer or a 
more eligible site. Its elevation was equal to that of any spot, 
save one, between the East and the North Rivers. The extended 



4 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

views from the balconies of the Academy were delightful : the eye 
was charmed by the panorama of the city to the westward, and of 
the miniature islands which intercept "the meeting of the waters" 
at Hell Gate and its vicinity. The villages of Harlem, Yorkville, 
and Manhattanville formed a kind of cordon around the base of 
the majestic height upon which the Academy stood. The snowy 
galliots, schooners, and sloops, for inland commerce with Long 
Island Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, rendered the 
outlook one of exceeding beauty. At the other side of the East 
River the pleasant suburban villages of Astoria, Greenpoint, Will- 
iamsburg, and the city of Brooklyn, presented a charming prospect. 
The locality possesses some historic repute, the center building, 
as shown in the illustration, having been occupied by Washington 
as his headquarters. A bastion, dating back to 1776* lies to the 




BASTION, 1876. 
Donor : Mary Jackson. 



north of the hill. The premises were held by the McGowan family 
until purchased by the Academy. 

The first mass was said at Mount St. Vincent, May 2, 1847, 
by the Right Rev. Bishop Hughes. After mass, he said: 

" My dear children, as I am pressed for time this morning, I 
can say only a few words. I need not delay to bless the house, 

* From Valentine's "Manual of the Common Council," New York, 1868. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 47 

since no blessing can exceed that of having the Holy Sacrifice 
offered for the first time on this newly erected altar. 

" My dear Sisters, and you, my dear children, who are aspiring 
to become Sisters of Charity, you are like the little grain of mus- 
tard-seed — small, indeed, in the eyes of those who see no further 
than to-morrow, and perhaps not that far, but great in the eyes of 
God. You all intend that this house shall be a house of prayer ; 
for God says, ' My house shall be called a house of prayer.' Let 
your prayer be humble, fervent, and constant. Have nothing in 
view but the love and service of God, doing in all things his 
most holy will. 

" Thus you will consecrate this house by your fervor, and you 
will prosper. From this humble beginning God will be glorified 
and served, if you are but faithful to the graces he will dispense to 
you. That you may be so is the blessing I invoke upon you, in 
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen." * 

The new home, on what was then but a bleak rock, was cer- 
tainly most uninviting. But the living presence of Jesus Christ, 
the Eternal Son of Justice, illumined it, and, from his altar-throne, 
he united the hearts of his daughters in one firm, determined, self- 
sacrificing purpose, to honor his holy name and to advance his 
work. 

The house as it then stood was a small frame building, con- 
taining only four rooms and an attic-floor. The southwest parlor 
had been devoted to the purposes of a chapel, and so dear did 
its little wooden altar become, that it is still preserved at the 
new Mount as a sacred memorial of those days, and as the wit- 

* These notes were preserved by a novice who was present on the occasion. 

7 



48 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

ness of the first vows of the sisterhood. How many holy and 
tender memories cluster round those days of destitution and ob- 
scurity ! 

In the September of 1847 tne north wing was completed, and 
the distribution of prizes of St. Joseph's Select School in New 
York had been purposely delayed that they might serve as the 
opening exercises of the new Academy. These exercises took 
place on September 13th. The morning had been dark and lower- 
ing, later the rain had fallen in torrents, but just before the hour 
named the sun shone out in great splendor* Everything passed 
off satisfactorily, and from that day the Academy of Mount St. 
Vincent dates its local origin, for forty young girls of St. Joseph's 
Select School were then entered as resident pupils at the Mount. 

On July 18, 1849, Bishop Hughes presided at the commence- 
ment exercises at the Mount. As he entered the crowded hall, 
the audience was surprised to see at his side a noble specimen of 
the Catholic priest and Irish gentleman — of benevolent countenance 
and amiable bearing — who was no other than the great "Apostle 
of Temperance," Father Mathew. He sat at' the place of honor, 
and, by request of the Bishop, distributed the crowns and prizes. 

The exercises were agreeably suspended by the appearance of a 
little miss.f who came to welcome Father Mathew. She bore a 
beautiful garland, which she gracefully presented, saying : 

" Accept, dear father, these simple flowers as a trifling memento 
of our deep regard and affection : they are frail and perishable, 
and, like all of this earth's beauty, their fragrance will soon pass 

* The Bishop had watched the weather closely, and, as soon as the sun appeared in un- 
usual glory, he dispatched a messenger, saying, " Go tell the Sisters that yon gleaming sun 
is my only answer to their inquiry whether I shall drive to the Mount this afternoon." 

+ Mary Manning. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 4g 

away. But the treasure which you have acquired by a life devoted 
to the service of Him who regards the least action is not so eva- 
nescent ; and, when your bark, freighted with the gold of many an 
action seen only by the Divine Eye, shall have moved on to the 
blissful shore of eternity, the quicksands and tempests of life 
securely passed, may you receive from him a munificent reality of 
which this is only a type — a crown of unfading glory!" 

This brief address, which was well delivered, was received with 
loud applause. Father Mathew rose instantly, saying : 

" You have taken me quite by surprise. I did not expect this 
tribute from you. I receive your beautiful garland with gratitude, 
and also the sentiment of the address that accompanied it — every 
line breathes eloquence. These flowers are an emblem of your 
purity and virtues. I am sure I speak the sentiments of every 
one present when I say that we have all heard with heart-felt 
pleasure the delightful manifestation of a high musical talent, and 
have witnessed in the rewards conferred the evidence of advance- 
ment in other branches of education. The progress you have made 
is highly creditable to your Alma Mater, from whom you have 
also imbibed the pure milk of virtue. I congratulate the Sisters 
of the community ; their labors are abundantly evident in the 
exercises of this day. Their best reward is in the glorious con- 
sciousness of training up future mothers and matrons, their present 
safeguard of honor and virtue. For myself, I can not express my 
feelings for your kindness ; but I shall always preserve this 
memento."* 

The Bishop, at the conclusion of the exercises, thus expressed 
himself : 

* A beautiful chorus, composed in his honor, was sung, and was warmly applauded. 



50 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

" You have delighted all with your musical performances, my 
dear children and young ladies. The gentle and eloquent voice 
that spoke in your name has right truthfully interpreted my senti- 
ments in reference to this institution, and it were impossible that 
other sentiments could animate me when I remember that, two 
years ago, this beautiful spot was a barren ground, or rather rock, 
for there was more of that apparent ; and reflect on what the zeal, 
ability, and perseverance of the religious ladies to whom your edu- 
cation is intrusted have accomplished on so bleak a field. 

" To-day they are surrounded by a host of young ladies, who 
exhibit, not only in the progress they have made in scholastic 
studies, but in all their demeanor, the value and importance of a 
religious education. How, then, could I but be delighted? It 
seems as if this little spot were nurtured with the spontaneous 
dews and sunlight of heaven, so rapidly has it grown up under 
the fostering hand of Providence. 

" My children, you will now separate, but in heart and soul 
you will be one. You have one true faith whose beauty has been 
revealed still more and more to you in this institution, and around 
the altars of that faith you will meet in spirit, just as every part 
of the earth, however remote, is bathed in the light of the sun, for 
the rays that shine on all have a common center. I feel that I 
speak not only my own sentiments, but those also of the clergy 
by whom I am surrounded. In their respective flocks they will 
easily be able to trace the many points of difference between those 
who have enjoyed the blessings of this Academy and those who 
have not. 

" In the name of religion, in the name of education, in the 
name of the hopes of the Church of God in this place, I return 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



51 



you my thanks and the thanks of all who have witnessed the 
crowning of your merit for the past year." 

When the premises were first purchased, as we have said, the 
middle building alone stood. In 1847 tne wing at the left side 




VIEW OF THE OLD MOUNT FROM THE NORTH. 
Donor : Victoria Olwell. 



was added, and in 1848 the other wing. In 1850 the larger struc- 
ture at the left in this cut was built. On March 19, 1855, the 
large brick chapel at the right was dedicated, which, though not 
as commodious or as beautiful as the chapel on the banks of the 
Hudson, was deemed a marvel at the time, and afforded every pos- 
sible aid to devotion and the exact carrying out of the ceremo- 
nies of holy Church. 

Bishop Hughes, styled by the journals of the day " The Father 
and Founder of the Academy of Mount St. Vincent," was raised 
to the archiepiscopal dignity in 1850. He went to Rome to 
receive the pallium from the hands of the Holy Pope, Pius IX. 
We find him at the commencement exercises in 185 1. The 



52 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

address to him on the occasion evinced the enthusiasm of the 
pupils : 

" With what rapidity does not time bear on the dreamy inspi- 
rations of youth ! But a few short months have passed since our 
souls were filled with sorrow and anxiety at your departure for a 




MOST REV. JOHN HUGHES, D. D. 
Donors : The Misses Sadlier. 



foreign shore. In spirit we followed your stately bark exulting 
over the azure sea ; we marked its course as it rode gallantly on, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 5, 

the parting waves playing around its prow ; the billows were proud 
to bear you on their breast. 

" Even to the presence of the Sovereign Pontiff we accompa- 
nied you ! Most reverend and beloved father, as your spiritual chil- 
dren, allow us to offer you our most respectful and affectionate con- 
gratulations on the higher dignity added to your sacred character. 
We feel that words are inadequate to express the overflowing joy 
and exultation of our hearts at your speedy and safe return, and 
to greet you in our midst again — a happiness greater than we had 
anticipated. The mild and balmy air of Italy, the pleasure experi- 
enced when your eye was gladdened by the view of the rich ver- 
dure of your native hills and the clear, glancing waters that 
brought back again the dreams of childhood, and the healthful 
sea-breeze, appear to have reinvigorated you with fresh life and 
spirits. The remembrance of this occasion will ever be enshrined 
in grateful affection in each young and happy heart around you. 
Whether our pathway be over thorns or roses, the sweet reminis- 
cence of our most reverend and beloved father and of this peace- 
ful home will live for ever in our hearts." 

The Most Rev. Archbishop was surrounded on this occasion by 
many honored and distinguished guests : the Most Rev. Dr. Blan- 
chet, Archbishop of Oregon ; the Right Rev. Dr. O'Reilly, Bishop 
of Hartford; and the Rev. Dr. McCaffrey, President of Mount 
St. Mary's, Emmettsburg, each of whom in turn addressed the 
pupils. 

In the summer of 1852 the Most Rev. William Walsh, D. D., 
of Halifax, the devoted friend of Mount St. Vincent, was received 
in the Study Hall, and his address, in response to one delivered 
by Miss Annie L. Olwell, forms one of the most interesting remi- 



54 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

niscences of the old Mount. The archives of the community con- 
tain many of his pleasing communications. 

Visit of a Roman Prelate. 

The Papal Nuncio, the Most Rev. Cajetan Bedini, D. D., Arch- 
bishop of Tarbes, visited the Mount on several occasions. He was 
formally received by the pupils November 3, 1853. He came 
accompanied by Archbishop Hughes; Right Rev. John Loughlin, 
Bishop of Brooklyn; Rev. Thomas Martin, O. P. ; Very Rev. Will- 
iam Starrs, V. G. ; Mr. Virtue, etc. 

After a greeting in music and song, a young lady of the grad- 
uating class came forward, and thus addressed the distinguished 
guest : 

"Most Illustrious and Reverend Lord: I have been named 
to the honorable and difficult task of addressing your Excellency 
in behalf of my young classmates, and of expressing the joy with 
which your presence here to-day has filled all hearts in this insti- 
tution. The most eloquent and brilliant professions of respect, 
interest, and gratitude would not be out of place on such an 
auspicious occasion as your visit to our Academy, and yet they 
could but faintly portray the lively sentiments of my companions 
and superiors. When we lift our eyes reverently toward you, 
most illustrious prelate, we are reminded of numberless attributes 
which call forth our esteem, admiration, and love, while we are 
met by no single trait which gives rise to doubt or fear. Were 
the personage who moves in our midst only a representative of 
some renowned and friendly monarch, our youthful imaginations 
might welcome with eager interest the statesman highly honored 
and widely respected even among the splendors of ancient Euro- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 55 

pean royalty. It can not but add to the greatness of our esteem 
to reflect that so distinguished a stranger is an Italian nobleman — a 
gifted son of the land of history, poesy, and art — a compatriot of 
Columbus, Verazzani, Cabot, and Americus Vespucci, the veritable 
pilgrim fathers of this continent, which they discovered, and which 
bears the name of one of them. But all such titles to our respect 
seem to dim their lustre when we come to remember that in the 
person of your Excellency we behold so much more than the 
insignia of senatorial majesty or military command. We are de- 
lighted to venerate in you the character that always inspires with 
entire confidence and filial affection the heart of every Catholic of 
every clime and tongue : we see and know a successor of the 
Apostles, a Bishop of the Church of God. Our souls are filled 
with joy when we bend and kiss the blessed signet-ring which 
adorns your anointed hand. Our faith teaches us that the apos- 
tolic power is the same, though held by different persons. 

" We can not tell whether the consecration of the venerated 
prelate, whom we of New York call in a special manner ' our 
father,' be derived from St. Peter, and that of your Excellency 
from St. Paul, or whether, again, his may be traced back to St. 
Paul and yours to St. Peter ; but we know that in both cases the 
authority comes down directly from the same Great High Priest, 
the Redeemer of the souls of men. 

" It has been your Excellency's privilege to stand as a sentinel 
near the tomb of the Apostles in the Catholic Jerusalem, Holy 
and Eternal Rome. It has been yours to sit in the councils of 
the great and saintly Pius IX, and, in the hour of turmoil and 
danger, you held up his arms while he raised them on high pray- 
ing that the people of God might not be overcome by the wicked. 

8 



56 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

For this, in a special manner, we venerate and love your sacred 
person, honored with character of Envoy of the Holy See, and 
dare to give expression to our feelings in your presence. 

" I retire from before you, most Illustrious and Reverend Lord 
Archbishop, returning thanks most humbly and sincerely for the 
honor you have done our Academy on this day, an honor which 
will ever be remembered and appreciated as one of the brightest 
and happiest events in the history of this institution." 

It is to be regretted that the long and beautiful response of 
this amiable and gifted prelate was not preserved in full. A few 
detached sentences are all that we have : 

" My beloved children, I am highly gratified and delighted with 
the honors conferred on me to-day. I am charmed with the filial 
love and respect for the Holy Father, the Pope, which it evinced, 
and I shall write him and give him an account of the honor and 
proceedings of this day, one of the happiest I have spent since 
my stay in America. 

" You are now, dear children, in the aurora of your life. Oh, 
profit by the examples before you ; follow the good counsels and 
instruction of your superiors, that you may one day be like the 
rising sun, shining members of society, good citizens, good Catho- 
lics, and pious heads of families. 

" Oh, blessed be God for inspiring holy St. Vincent de Paul 
with zeal to institute such an exalted order as that of the Sisters 
of Charity — Sisters who are called to practice the highest and 
most perfect charity ! " 

The illustrious guest then went on for some time extolling the 
community and the good religious training received in the institu- 
tion, expressing himself much pleased with the appearance of the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 57 

young ladies and the every-way respectable assemblage. He repeat- 
edly and particularly thanked the young lady, Mary Louise Shea 
(sister of John Gilmary Shea, LL. D.), who had addressed him, he- 
presumed, in her native tongue (this was not so, however), and he 
complimented her eloquent delivery. He added with great grace 
that he had received the high compliments bestowed on him as 
intended for the Holy Father, then dilated on the astonishing 
prosperity and flourishing condition in every way of the institu- 
tion, though it was still so young, and added that he had never 
seen so many young ladies (the pupils numbered two hundred) in 
one educational establishment. At the termination of his remarks, 
he gave his solemn benediction. 

Mention should not be omitted of a visit paid by the mitred 
Abbot of La Trappe, the Right Rev. Maria Eutropius. He sang 
high mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1854, then 
gave a most interesting history of his order to the pupils. 

All were very much impressed by his air of holiness, and by 
the charity which made him form a union of good works and 
prayers with the inmates of the institution at the Mount. 

Dedication of the Chapel, March 19, 1855. 

On the Feast of St. Joseph the large chapel was dedicated at 
the old Mount. The Most Rev. Archbishop was still in Rome, 
and in his absence, therefore, the Right Rev. John Loughlin, D. D., 
officiated. Very Rev. William Starrs, V. G., Archdeacon McCarren, 
Rev. Dr. Moriarty, O. S. A., Rev. Jeremiah Cummings, D. D., Rev. 
William Quinn, Rev. Walter Quarter, Rev. Thomas S. Preston, Rev. 
Isidore Daubresse, S. J., and six seminarians from St. Joseph's Sem- 
inary, Fordham, Rev. J. Breen, Rev. J. Kinsella, Rev. William 



58 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

dowry, and Rev. G. Brophy, assisted at the dedication services, 
after which pontifical mass was celebrated by the Bishop, with 
Very Rev. William Starrs as high priest, Rev. Isidore Daubresse, 



CHAPEL AT THE OLD MOUNT. 
Donor: Louise Gauton. 



S. J., master of ceremonies. The Rev. Dr. Moriarty preached a 
beautiful sermon on the Eighty-third Psalm, beginning, " How 
lovely are thy tabernacles ! " etc.* 

By a singular coincidence, this distinguished man had preached 
also at the dedication of the chapel at St. Joseph's, Emmettsburg. 

The chapel, thus solemnly dedicated, was a beautiful type of 
the Romanesque, solidly and massively built, and was, as we have 
said, a great fount of devotion, in which all the ceremonies of holy 
Church were scrupulously carried out. 

* Mrs. Sweeny and Lacey assisted the choir, and Mr. Harrison presided at the organ on 
this great occasion. 







FONTHILL CASTLE, 1856. 
Donor : Mary G. Smith. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 59 

The Right Rev. Bishop McGill, D. D., of Richmond, Ya., paid 
a long visit to the institution, accompanied by Very Rev. William 
Starrs, V. G., in May, 1855. 

Purchase of the Fonthill Estate. 

The removal of the Academy from its old location was owing 
partly to its site being included in the limits of Central Park, and 
partly to the increasing demands upon its services as an institu- 
tion for the instruction of youth. The purchase of Fonthill was 
finally effected December 20, 1856, and formal possession was 
taken February 2, 1857, by placing a beautiful statue of the 
Immaculate Queen of Heaven on the premises. The estate con- 
sists of about fifty-five acres. The purchase was thus noticed in 
the "Courier and Inquirer": 

" The responsibility of contracting a debt of one hundred thou- 
sand dollars, the price fixed, could not have been assumed by the 
Sisters of Charity had it not been for the noble generosity of Mr. 
Forrest. The terms for payment are most decidedly indulgent, 
even as regards percentage." 

On the transfer of the title, Mr. Forrest presented his check 
for five thousand dollars, as a friendly donation. Indeed, he may 
be said to have presented the grounds to the Academy, as he must 
have expended in improvements more than the entire amount paid 
for the title, the cottage and outbuildings themselves being hand- 
somer than many first-class residences. 

The first mass was said on the Feast of the Visitation, 1857, 
by the Very Rev. William Starrs, V. G., in a temporary chapel 
arranged in an upper room of the castle. The Choir Sisters sang 
the Litany and Magnificat. 



6o HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The foundations for the new Academy building were begun May 
i, 1857, about three hundred yards to the northeast of the castle. 

Laying of the Corner-Stone or the Academy Mount St. 
Vincent, September 8, 1857. 

On the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
September 8, 1857, the corner-stone of the new edifice was laid by 
the Most Rev. Archbishop Hughes, assisted by Very Rev. William 
Starrs, V. G., Rev. Francis McNierny, and Rev. Edward Lynch. 

The occasion was a most interesting one, and attracted numer- 
ous visitors from far and near. The glory of incipient autumn 
shone out in the blue vault overhead, and was painted in the 
scarlet and flying gold of the densely wooded banks of the Hud- 
son ; while the unsurpassed beauty of river, grove, and leaf-carpeted 
dell was enhanced by the human groups which, scattered in all 
directions, gave life and a picturesque movement to the scene. 

The stone was of blue granite, quarried on the spot, about 
three feet square, with a cut depression eight inches long, six in 
width, and the same in depth, in which a copper box was placed 
during the ceremonies. 

" We are now assembled," said the Most Rev. Archbishop, " to 
lay with proper ceremony the corner-stone of a building consecrated 
to God, which, when completed, will be dedicated anew, so that 
ground, materials, and building, as well as those by whom it is to 
be occupied, may be considered as devoted to his service. The 
chapel whose corner-stone we are this day about to lay is not 
designed precisely as a parish church, though to some extent it 
may answer the purpose of one. It is intended as an adjunct to 
the convent of the Sisters of Charity, of whom it may be said that, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 6 1 

like their Divine Master, their charity knows no distinction of 
country or creed or race. Known they are, not only among 
Catholics, not only among Christians generally, but among Mo- 
hammedans and even pagans. Where grief is to be assuaged or 
distress relieved, there they are to he found, following with unequal 
steps, but fervent zeal, the footsteps of their Lord and Master. 

"In this country they have principally devoted themselves to the 
education of the youth of their sex, seeking them out and giving 
them those advantages of which they might else be deprived; and, 
by admitting to their residence those whose stations in life might 
require it, give them that instruction and example which would fit 
them to become Christian ladies. Although their removal to this 
spot was not altogether voluntary, yet I can not but consider the 
train of circumstances which led to it as in some degree providen- 
tial. They had been established in New York for some time, and, 
although the continued growth of the city exposed their pupils to 
increased temptations, and rendered it more difficult to exercise a 
proper restraint over them, yet there they would probably have 
remained had they not been compelled to leave — a circumstance 
which we now recognize as providential. 

" While looking around for a new location, they accidentally 
heard of this place, Fonthill, known to them before scarcely by 
name ; and I deem it just to the gentleman whose property it then 
was to state that, upon being waited upon to inquire into the mat- 
ter, he received the ladies with the utmost courtesy, treated them 
with the greatest liberality, and, notwithstanding the different expec- 
tations which he must have entertained of its destination when he 
purchased this ground and erected that edifice, expressed nothing 
but pleasure on hearing the object for which it was designed. 



62 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

" Here, then, in a location which can hardly be excelled within 
fifty miles of New York for natural advantages, of unsurpassed 
salubrity, amid a population favorably disposed, near enough to the 
city to enjoy all its benefits, and yet removed from its tempta- 
tions, where could an institution for the education of youth be 
more eligibly located ? Before us spreads some of the finest sce- 
nery of a river, which, I may say without exaggeration, the world 
can not surpass, and you may travel, as I have, many thousand 
miles without seeing its equal. 

" I do not consider these things by any means unimportant 
and I repeat that I deem it providential that our steps have been 
directed to this spot, where, surrounded by all those natural and 
moral advantages to which we have briefly alluded, we may lay 
the foundations of an edifice destined, not for a day, not for a 
year, but, as far as in us lies, for all time, and employ in its con- 
struction that skill and talent which are the gifts of God, and 
whose highest development is attained when engaged in his ser- 
vice. 

"In that prayer, therefore, which it is my part to offer and 
yours to join, let us unite with willing hearts ; for, though the 
corner-stone we are about to lay be of granite, without faith and 
love and charity, which may God instill into all present, the walls 
of this edifice will never be acceptably reared, nor, when finished, 
will it fulfill its destined end." 

After these remarks, the Archbishop offered a prayer, and then 
the various parts of the new foundations were blessed by the usual 
ceremonies, and finally the box, to which allusion has already been 
made, was placed in the corner-stone. 

The cellar-walls are three feet thick, the English-basement story 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 63 

of brick two feet four inches, the tower-walls two feet eight inches, 
and the rest of the external walls uniformly sixteen inches. The 
inside walls are all of a peculiarly hard brick, made expressly for 
this building, and which was twice burned during the process of 
its manufacture. By this means the walls have an adamantine 
consistency, almost equal to the natural rock on which they stand, 
resembling in this particular the foundations of the new cathedral 
of New York. 

Last Commencement at the Old Mount, July 15, 1858. 

At its close, Archbishop Hughes rose, and said: 

" My dear children, it must be a great comfort to you to know that on days 
like this, which come but once a year, you are the means of making many hearts 
as happy as your own. You are always surrounded by friends whose affections 
are centered in you ; and your parents and kindred, and even those who are not 
so nearly related to you, must be pleased at this undoubted evidence of your suc- 
cess. It has been my happiness for a considerable number of years to be a wit- 
ness of your exhibitions, and it seems to me now that the same faces and the 
same dresses are always before me. But still I know that those who were young 
have already entered upon the active duties of life to which, in the providence of 
God, they have been called ; but nevertheless, wherever they go, they must bear 
with them the evidence of the usefulness of this house. You are every day advanc- 
ing in years, and year by year you leave behind the tender scenes of childhood, and 
advance toward those duties which await you in life. When, therefore, we become 
witnesses of scenes like this presented to-day, we look upon them as the evidence 
— the earnest — of your conduct for the future. We are all proud of you. I say 
it without intending to excite pride or vanity. The ladies and gentlemen now 
present, and even the Sisters of Charity, whose profession is that of profound 
humility, I would not say that even they were not a little proud of the exhibi- 
tion you have made to-day. [Cheers.] I do not call it pride — it is humility — 
because they may be allowed to feel some degree of satisfaction in seeing such 
good fruit resulting from their devoted and constant attention. There is another 
subject which is full of consolation : that there is an institution so guarded around 
and about by the influence of religion, and supported by those who are devoted 



64 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

to the work of God, that parents, whose duty it is to cherish the principles of 
virtue and of purity in the hearts of their daughters, can safely place them in a 
community like this without fear of contamination. If there ever was a time 
when the force of religion was telling with an awful rebound, it is at the pres- 
ent time. Those who are conversant with the scandals of newspapers can cite 
examples both in Europe and in our own country where statements have been 
made concerning schools that have caused the breaking of the heart in many a 
family circle. But there is nothing of the kind in this place. Whatever in the 
providence of God can be done for you, to govern you by the influence of religion 
and reason, has been done. And now, as many of you are about to retire from 
these peaceful shades, you must not suppose that you are emancipated because 
you are no longer under the supervision and the eyes of your teachers. Your 
time of rising and of retiring, and all the duties you have learned here, must or 
ought to continue. The restraint here is gentle, though there must be some 
restraint. It is most valuable to a young lady to know how to control the sen- 
timent of the heart when it is not right — to correct a hasty temper and other 
improprieties. You are not to launch into the world with a heart unformed, for- 
getful of early training ; for, though you have not been prisoners here, you must 
know that you have been kept under that control which is beneficial to you. 
Therefore, be cautious, and do not allow yourselves to rush headlong into the 
world ; but, by observing the lessons you learn here, wherever you may be you 
will be a living recommendation of its school, as well as a blessing to your fami- 
lies and to society. I may add, dear children, that none of your exhibitions ever 
exceeded this day's ; and I have some hope that, when another year shall evolve, 
your exercises will be witnessed upon the banks of the noble Hudson, in a region 
bare and rugged, if you will, but beautiful and romantic, where the echoes of its 
mountains and its valleys shall be awakened to sweet music, such as never has 
been heard in them before." [Cheers.] 

The Archbishop then remarked that there were many local 
phrases among the inhabitants of the Western country, and among 
them was one to " scare up." The expression was only used by 
the Indian and the hunter to mean that they " caught up " a thing, 
such as bait for fish or game. As yet those magnificent Palisades 
of New Jersey had only been "scared up" by the wild whoop of 
the Indian or the barbarous scream of the steam-engine ; but the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 65 

day was coming- when through its glades would resound the sweet 
and sacred music of Mount St. Vincent, whose strains its pupils 
know so well how to evoke. 

The first mass at the new Academy was said at a temporary 
altar in the novitiate, on the Feast of the Transfiguration, 1859. 
Rev. Edward Lynch, pastor of St. Mary's Church, Yonkers, N. Y., 
was its celebrant. The Sisters and the pupils, who were spending 
their vacation here, chanted the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Blessing of the Bell, August 30, 1859. 

The rotunda of the castle was metamorphosed into a chapel, 
an altar erected, and at one side the hell was hung in position, 
covered with garlands of flowers. The Most Rev. Archbishop per- 
formed the ceremony, assisted by the Very Rev. William Starrs, 
V. G., Archdeacon McCarron, Rev. Francis McNierny, Rev. Edward 
Lynch, and Rev. John Breen. 

All were pleased with its silvery tones. Its weight is twelve hun- 
dred and twenty-eight pounds, and it bears the following inscription : 

" Cantate Domino Canticum Novum quia Mirabilia fecit. Psal- 
mus xcvii. 

" Ecclesia Conceptions Immaculatae. A. D. MDCCCLIX. 
" Charitatis Puellarum Societas Sancti Vincentii A Paulo. 

" Neo-Eboraci." 

The First Commencement at the New Mount, September 

8, 1859. 

His Grace entered the hall attended by the Right Rev. John 
Loughlin, D. D., of Brooklyn; the Right Rev. James R. Bayley, 



66 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

D. D., of Newark ; Very Rev. William Starrs, V. G. ; Rev. George 
H. Doane; Rev. Francis McNierny ; Archdeacon McCarron, 
and over a hundred clergymen. Silliman Ives, L L. D., J. M. 
Huntington, LL. D., and John Gilmary Shea, L L. D., were 
present. It was a day never to be forgotten, and his Grace dis- 
pensed the crowns and over four hundred prizes with manifest 
delight. 

Toward the close of the exercises an address, abounding in 
poetic imagery and happy, graceful allusions to the scenery around, 
was spoken by Miss Mary Jane Mackey, whose charms of elo- 
cution won marked encomiums. 

After the last piece on the programme was concluded, his 
Grace the Archbishop rose amid prolonged applause. The pupils 
rose at the same time, but his Grace waved his hand as a signal 
for them to be seated. He addressed them as his dear children, 
and remarked that in a country like ours the best government 
we could hope for or expect was that which rested on that deep 
and broad foundation known as " the will of the people." Some 
might object to this provision, and contend that even the majority 
are prone to error. But, then, should one majority go astray, it 
would be easy to procure another to decide aright. However 
that might be, the events of the day showed the results of the 
will of the majority, and we have reason to thank the majority 
therefor. He did not thank it for the Academy's removal from 
the city so much as for the good that had resulted therefrom. The 
majority had decided to have a public park for the people, which, 
when completed, would rival anything of the kind in the world, 
and therefore it had done well in appropriating for the purpose 
that most beautiful part of the city whose eminence the old con- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 67 

vent crowned. It was not to injure the institution that its removal 
had been ordered, hut to benefit the community at large, and he 
therefore could not but express his thanks to the authorities of 
New York, and especially to the Central Park Commissioners, 
whose kindness and courtesy the friends of the institution had re- 
peatedly experienced. Some solicitude had been felt as to the place 
to which the institution should be removed ; friends had cast about 
to find a suitable location, and had finallv fixed upon this spot. 
The Mother Superior consulted with its proprietor (Edwin For- 
rest), and in a brief time, without land-agents or others — indeed, 
the settlement of the matter took less time than was occupied by 
the emperors in their interview at Solferino [laughter and applause] 
— she had found a generous man who was anxious to co-operate 
in her designs, and to promote an undertaking which the Almighty 
had blessed. The plans of the building were before and around 
the audience, and, like the monuments of Sir Christopher Wren, 
spoke for themselves. It was a cause of congratulation that no 
accident to life or limb had occurred during the erection of the 
building, a circumstance which augured most happily for the future 
of the institution. There was one missing to-day who for years and 
years had devoted his best energies to the care and welfare of the 
orphans, and had nobly seconded the Sisters of Charity in all their 
zealous projects. Had he been spared among us to look upon this 
grand outcome of their pious effort, how delighted he would be!* 
The Sisters of Charity had ever made friends even among the 
enemies of religion. He spoke thus, not because he supposed there 
were any here, but because history has sadly attested their existence 

* Mr. Michael O'Connor, of Staten Island, a retired master-builder. His services were 
gratuitously bestowed at Mount St. Vincent, as were also those of Mr. Tighe Davey. 



68 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

elsewhere. At the time of the French Revolution, people arose 
and declared there was no God. This was very bad, no doubt ; 
but yet, whenever these same persons met a Sister of Charity, they 
would invariably salute her profoundly. Did not Napoleon, even 
amid the hoarse din of war, issue an order that the soldiers on 
guard should present arms to the Sisters as they passed by ? If, 
then, such honors as these came from the enemies of religion, need 
we be surprised if kindnesses have been showered upon them by 
friends, by prelates and priests — indeed, by men from every walk in 
life? 

The pupils of the Academy have not been expelled from Man- 
hattan Island. They have merely come here to receive the rec- 
ompense they have so richly deserved. They have left one Eden 
in exchange for a larger and fairer one. This was their first Com- 
mencement at a distance from the old home, but it was a Com- 
mencement held under most auspicious circumstances. One might 
travel many a weary mile without finding such educational advan- 
tages as here abound. A great deal had to be thought of when the 
instruction of youth was in contemplation, and the first thing to 
be considered was the selection of a suitable site for the erection 
of a building. If it were a sandy plain, for instance, without any 
verdure or anything which might give variety to the appearance 
thereof, it was evidently not suited for the purpose in view. On 
the other hand, the Sisters could not raze a chain of rocks, or afford 
to plant trees thereon. Here the eye, no matter in what direction 
it looked, perceived all that harmonized with the true spirit and 
aims of education, which embrace the physical as well as the moral. 
Here, therefore, as in some foreign countries — in Switzerland and 
the Tyrol, for instance — the scenery being strikingly beautiful and 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 69 

impressive, should be deemed a valuable aid and adjunct to a sound 
system of education. It was a great point in favor of the Acad- 
emy that it rested on a site where the means for physical culture 
were conjoined with every scenic beauty that could charm and ele- 
vate the mind. When Canova, the great artist, was brought to 
Paris, he could do no work there ; he had lost his models : every- 
thing, even the sky, was different from what he had been accus- 
tomed to in his native land. If that were the case in the experi- 
ence of so distinguished an artist, we must admit that the eye 
which has long been accustomed to dwell upon surroundings of 
exquisite beauty, such as those we here gaze upon, has received a 
veritable art education. 

The Archbishop then alluded to the kitchen as another branch 
of the physical department, because good food is indispensable to 
bodily health. Gymnastic exercises, likewise, equally contributive to 
grace and strength, might here be indulged in aloof from the peer- 
ing eye of curiosity. He then spoke of the more substantial food 
which imparts vigor to the mind. The religious element is the 
groundwork of everything excellent in human life. He did not 
speak invidiously when he said the pupils were in the main Catho- 
lics, for members of other denominations were never interfered with 
on the score of religion ; in all these exercises the pupils were the 
apple of their teacher's eye, who kept them away from anything 
which might taint their innocence. He did not intend to be in- 
vidious either when he said that the very training of youth was a 
part of the mission of the Catholic Church. When morals are 
at a low ebb, they must be renovated by the children, who, like 
the fountains that give forth living waters, will take their train- 
ing back to the family circle, and in course of time to their own 



JO HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

religious homes. If, too, they would bear away more than the 
perfections of religion, he would say that the Catholic Church 
taught everything — music and every accomplishment known to the 
best educators — and surrounded the minds of youth with that per- 
fection which must come from God himself. If one were to strike 
out the saints and the angels and other beauties of the Church, 
then would the models be destroyed, and nothing could be rightly 
done. 

They would understand all this when they came to consider 
the value of seclusion and the absence of aught which might 
offend them : they might pass days with their governesses, and 
their eyes never rest on a symbol or a sentence that could offend 
the modesty of maidenhood. Let them attend to their class 
duties — to their drawing particularly ; they had the models all 
before them. He need not add a word about the scenery. But 
he would add that, although they possessed all these advantages by 
the will of the majority, they possessed them no less by the will 
of God. For the first time since the Hudson River passed there, 
the opposite side had never the opportunity to listen to anything 
so sweet and beautiful as the vesper chimes which floated out on 
the evening air ; and, as the reverberations passed over in their 
sweetness, they enlivened with their beautiful tones even the Pali- 
sades of New Jersey. [Great applause.] 

Dedication of Chapel, December 13, 1859. 

His Grace chanced to miss the morning train, and in conse- 
quence could not be present. Very Rev. William Starrs, V. G., 
officiated. After the dedication, solemn mass was celebrated. Rev. 
Edward Lynch, of Yonkers, was deacon, and the Rev. Chaplain sub- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 71 

deacon ; Rev. Francis McNierny, master of ceremonies. Rev. L. 
Pernot, S. J., preached an eloquent sermon. 

Archdeacon McCarron, Rev. William Quinn, Rev. Walter Quar- 
ters, Rev. Isidore Daubresse, S. J., and a number of clergymen, 
occupied seats in the sanctuary 

Mr. Mora and his son assisted in the choir. 

The Bishops of the province paid a visit to the Mount in the 
January of i860. Bishop McFarland offered the Holy Sacrifice, 
and Bishop Timon preached on the Holy Infancy. 

They made a tour of the premises, and seemed desirous of see- 
ing everything. 

Remarks of Archbishop Hughes on the Subject of Educa- 
tion, July, i860. 

When the last strain of a brilliant grand march had died away 
among the echoes of the halls, the Most Rev. Archbishop rose to 
address the young ladies and the audience generally. After express- 
ing the pleasure which he himself, in common, he was sure, with all 
their friends present, had derived from their entertainment, and com- 
menting on the amount of proficiency displayed by them on the 
occasion, his Grace went on to say that in former celebrations of a 
similar kind he had been more than a little affected by the grave 
and somewhat melancholy tone of the several addresses of the pu- 
pils, written and spoken under the saddening influence of parting 
thoughts; that he had sometimes in his replies indulged in a strain 
of pleasantry, with a view to enliven the hour and the scene ; but 
for that time he would follow the bent of his own inclinations, 
and adopt a more serious tone in the remarks he was about to 
make. His Grace then spoke at some length on the subject of 



7 2 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

education as connected with the growth of Catholic institutions 
devoted to that object. Casting a retrospective glance over the 
progress made in that respect during the last twenty-five years, he 
showed that, where scarcely a Catholic school was to be had in or 
around New York city, there were now to be found schools in 
every parish and in almost every locality for the rich and also for 
the poor. The devoted Sisters of this and other religious orders 
were laboring to the same end, and also the Christian Brothers. 
" Many of your fathers and mothers, my dear young ladies," said 
the Archbishop, " remember a country and an order of things very 
different as regards education — a country where, a few generations 
back, education was impeded by two great obstacles. One was," 
said his Grace, " that the laws made it a penal offense to be 
educated abroad. Thank God, however, we have no British 
Government here to lay an embargo on education ; here every 
man is at liberty to educate his own child ; but there is some- 
thing to be said in that connection even here." His Grace then 
entered a strenuous protest against the system of what is called 
" State education." He said — and we were pleased to hear so high 
an authority say so thus publicly — that he never was, and never 
could be, favorable to an infidel system of education. Conse- 
quently, wherever Catholic schools can be established and sup- 
ported, Catholic children should never be sent to public schools. 

The Right Rev. T. Amat, D. D., Bishop of Monterey, spent 
some days here in January, 1863. His lordship gave the pupils a 
great deal of information concerning the Indians. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



73 



May i, 1863, 

rendered memorable by a visit from our Most Rev. Archbishop. 
His infirm state of health rendered his effort in coming to us 
truly a favor. He arrived at 12.30 p. m. The children met him 
on the lawn, and the bells sent out their most joyous peals of 
welcome. He was attended by the Very Rev. Superior and Rev. 
Father McNierny. Reclining on a couch, he gave his blessing to 
the members of the community as each Sister presented herself. 
At 2.30 P. m. he administered confirmation to about thirty of the 
children, several of whom had made their first communion that 
morning. He spoke quite a length of time before giving the sac- 
rament. He gave the Papal benediction, followed by the benedic- 
tion of the Blessed Sacrament. In the latter part of the afternoon, 
his Grace visited the Study Hall, where the Sisters, children, and 
a number of strangers were assembled. Immediately on seating 
himself, he granted the children holiday, at which they evinced 
their great delight. Miss Marie Bruguiere delivered a short address 
to him, and Miss Mary Dillon made a presentation. 

The venerable Archbishop was sensibly touched, so much so 
that he was only able to make a few remarks. " Young ladies and 
children," said he, " I was hardly prepared to receive so strong and 
affecting an expression of your feeling. On my arrival, the Supe- 
rioress welcomed me most warmly, and seemed very grateful for 
my coming, although in impaired health ; but I was not prepared to 
meet so much here. You may be sure that the scene now before 
me is one replete with interest for me. While abroad, I had the 
opportunity of being present at many great exhibitions of various 
kinds, particularly while sojourning in that classic land, Italy ; but 



74 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

nowhere was I so much interested — not that there was not every- 
thing to elicit the admiration of a person of susceptibility ; but my 
infirmities, in the first place, debarred my entering into them ; and, 
secondly, they were all more or less foreign to me. Here I forget 
my infirmities, and I feel your testimonials of respect and esteem 
for me. There is some selfishness, of course, in all this. Religion 
teaches us to do all for God with purity of intention, and we try 
to do so as far as weak human nature permits ; yet there is a 
certain scope allowed for natural feeling. If a person takes pleas- 
ure in viewing a beautiful tree which his own hand had planted, 
and if its fruit seems sweeter than that of any other tree, surely if 
I had anything to do with the planting of this tree whose fruits 
are spread before me, I am the last one not to be insensible of its 
beauty and perfection." 

Here his feelings quite overcame him, and he was obliged to 
stop. Much emotion was shown by those listening to him. He 
was silent for a few minutes, and then merely added, in a voice 
choked by emotion, "God bless you." He left for the city at 6.30 
p. m., the children attending him down to the station. 

Just before leaving, some one said, " Shall we expect your 
Grace for the Commencement ? " " Oh, yes, dead or alive, I shall 
be here that day." He said this to enliven all, for he saw how 
strong was the sad impression that this would be his last visit. 
He had driven all around the grounds, and noted every improve- 
ment. On a previous visit he had expressed a hope that the " old 
rocky road" would disappear, and he was pleased to find it re- 
placed by a macadamized roadway. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



75 




ARCHBISHOP HUGHES. 
Donor: Mrs. Wm. //. Sadlier. 



Last Visit of Archbishop Hughes — Commencement, July 15, 

1863. 

The last visit the late Most Rev. Archbishop paid to the 
Academy was on the occasion of the Commencement exercises on 
July 15, 1863. The draft-riots had broken out the day before, the 
rails had been displaced on the railroads, and, as no trains were 
running, it was thought there would be no audience ; moreover, it 
rained quite heavily. But when the Albany day-boat passed up, 
about 9 a. m., the cheers from the passengers on deck announced 
them to be so many guests for the Mount. The Archbishop drove 
up; a large number — although the fee for carriage-hire was per- 
fectly exorbitant — followed his example. The Archbishop never 
appeared in better spirits, but he was obliged to sit during his 
brief address. 



j6 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

" My dear young ladies," said he, " the delight which I and others have en- 
joyed at this entertainment is not a surprise. We have been accustomed to wit- 
ness such scenes in these halls for some years past. Nevertheless, to-day, although 
the audience is not so large as usual, the excellence of your passing through the 
occasion has never been surpassed. [Applause.] I have admired the ease, the 
elegance, the grace, the efficiency which you, without any forced show or desire 
for sympathy, have given evidence of, and the progress you have made. I con- 
gratulate you on the progress you have made, under God. I would say more. 
I would tell you that you are beautiful [laughter and applause], but, then, that 
would be considered flattery, and your sex, as well as the other, is prone to flat- 
tery [laughter] ; but, as every father here considers his own child the most beau- 
tiful in the assemblage, so I, who may be considered the father of the community, 
think you all very good and very beautiful young ladies. [Applause.] I regret 
that the attendance here to-day is not so good as usual ; but I pity those who 
are absent, whether occasioned by the morning's mist or by the rails having been 
torn up from the track. I pity them, because they have lost the treat we have 
witnessed. I said in my haste a few weeks ago that ' I would come here to-day, 
living or dead.' I am here, and that without any passport from the Mayor or 
Marshal of New York ! [Laughter and applause.] I did not anticipate any 
difficulty when I said I would be here ; but I could make my way through 
twenty mobs [applause], and none would dare to stop me when I said I was on 
my way to Mount St. Vincent, to the good Sisters of Charity ! 

" The special presentation, a gold medal, is the gift of Archdeacon McCarron. 
It is a generous and well-directed gift, and shall not perish. I shall leave it on 
my successor to perpetuate it. I shall make a will ; I have been intending to do 
so for a long time [laughter] ; and, as the lawyers say, I shall ' will and devise 
and bequeath' — I believe that is the term used, whether a man has anything to 
leave or not [loud laughter] — provision for a gold medal every year for the same 
purpose." 

The Archbishop then alluded to the health of the young ladies 
and the healthfulness of the place itself; and added that they must 
not forget that their prosperity and protection are due to God, 
the culture of their hearts is due to God, and their innocence and 
purity are due to God and the prayers of the Blessed Virgin. His 
Grace then admonished the young ladies who were about to enter 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



77 



the world (the three graduates) to be on their guard, and cherish 
the sentiments which have been inculcated here, and never withdraw 
the eye of their soul from the guiding star — Mary, Mary, the Star 
of the Sea — not of the ocean, but the sea of the soul. | Applause.] 
The proceedings terminated with all the grace and beauty which 
pertain to institutions of this kind — and more particularly to this 
— the kind preceptresses of which had, as the young ladies in their 
valedictory said, guided them along in innocence and truth. 




ARCHBISHOP MCCLOSKEY. 
Donor : Airs. Wm. H. Sadlier. 



First Visit of His Grace Archbishop McCloskey, D. D. 

His Grace, having been installed on the Sunday within the 
Octave of the Assumption, came up to visit the Mount, August 
29, 1864. He was accompanied by the Very Rev. William Starrs, 
V. G., and his secretary, the Rev. Francis McNierny. 

The large bell sent forth its joyous peals, and everything in 

1 1 



jg HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

and around the institution seemed to breathe a joyous welcome. 

He was received in the Study Hall, and most affectionately greeted 

in an address, to which he responded in a truly paternal manner. 

After dining, he was conducted through the entire institution, and 

drove over the grounds. He had dwelt much on his admiration 

of the surroundings in his address to the pupils, but the varied 

beauties of the spot impressed him still more favorably during his 

drive. 

When he left the institution, all its inmates felt that they had 

in him a kind father, and a devoted friend of education and of 

good works. 

April 25, 1865. 

The remains of the assassinated President Lincoln passed the 
Mount this day en route to Springfield, Illinois. Flags at half- 
mast were displayed from the staffs on the castle and railroad-sta- 
tion. The station itself was heavily draped, and the words " We 
mourn our country's loss " were conspicuous. 

The funeral-car slackened its speed as it passed by the long 
line of pupils ranged near the railroad. 

August 5, 1865. 

The Right Rev. Bishop McGill, D. D., of Richmond, Virginia, 
came, accompanied by Rev. Dr. O'Connor, of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania. They visited every portion of the institution. The Bishop 

spoke at some length. 

July 12, 1866. 

The grand Exhibition Hall was opened, the Commencement 
exercises being held in it. The occasion was also memorable, 
inasmuch as His Grace Archbishop McCloskey presided for the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



79 



first time. A grand march and chorus, composed for the occasion 
by Mr. Schmitz, was a noteworthy feature. Also " Life's Voyage," 
an original drama, was greatly eulogized by His Grace. 

June 29, 1871. 

The institution celebrated its Silver Jubilee by a drama written 
in commemoration of the happy event. The Most Rev. Arch- 
bishop presided on the occasion, accompanied by the Right Rev. 
Bishop Loughlin, D. D., of Brooklyn, Very Rev. William Starrs, 
D. D., V. G., and a large number of clergymen. The hall was 
beautifully decorated, and the exercises were in harmony with the 
spirit of the occasion. The graduates of former years had been 
invited, and a great many were present. 

A feeling tribute to the late Most Rev. Archbishop as father 
and founder was heightened in effect by a life-size bust of the 
great prelate placed in a conspicuous position on the platform, and 
around which two pupils entwined evergreens during the "In Me- 
moriam." Whenever the name of the great champion occurred in 
the address, his eminent successor feelingly lifted his biretta. 

The words of His Grace on this occasion sank deeply into all 
hearts. He paid a feeling compliment to the Very Rev. William 
Starrs, D. D., V. G., of whom he said it was true to affirm that, if the 
illustrious Archbishop, his predecessor, had planted, Father Starrs 
had, like Apollo, watered. Father Starrs was much moved, and, 
though asked by His Grace to address the audience, found it im- 
possible to acquiesce. 



8o HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Visit of Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke, O. P. 

March 20, 1872, this eminent Dominican paid an informal visit 
to the institution. He promised to come in May and speak to 

the pupils. 

Fourth Sunday after Easter, 1872. 

The time-honored friend of the Academy, the newly consecrated 
Bishop of Rhesina and Coadjutor to the Bishop of Albany, Right 
Rev. Francis McNierny, D. D., paid a visit. He was received with 
music, song, and address in the Study Hall, and remained over and 
said mass next morning. 

Visit of the Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke, O. P. 

The Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke, O. P., paid his promised 
visit to the Mount, June 22, 1872. He was accompanied by Rev. 
Michael Curran and Major P. M. Haverty, of New York. The 
great preacher said mass at nine o'clock, and at 2 p. m. visited the 
Study Hall and spoke for an hour or more in the presence of the 
pupils, a number of clergymen, and quite a concourse of friends of 
the institution. His theme was education, but it was enlivened by 
many a pleasing incident, inimitably told. 

Father Burke paid a visit to the institution, August 21, 1872. 

July 4, 1872, 

rendered memorable in the annals of the institution by a wholly 
unexpected formal presentation made by Dr. Edmund S. F. Ar- 
nold* of his entire and most valuable collection of minerals. Dr. 

* " Edmund Samuel Foster Arnold, Newport, Rhode Island, was born in Bermondsey, 
London, England, January 30, 1820. He is the second son of the late William Rowland 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



Arnold had been for years the attending physician at the Mount, 
and his great skill and devotion to his profession had earned for 




EDMUND SAMUEL FOSTER ARNOLD, M. D. 



Arnold, for thirty years accountant-general of the South Sea Company, London, and for 
forty years secretary and accountant of Guy's Hospital, London ; also, by descent, of the elder 
branch of the Arnolds of Lowestoffe, Suffolk, England. He was educated first in a private 
school, then at the Moravian institution at Neuwied, on the Rhine ; entered Guy's Hospital, 
London, as a house pupil in 1835, remained there continuously till 1844, with the exception 
of session i837-'38, when he attended the anatomical and physiological lectures of Mayer 
and Weber at the University of Bonn. In 1S42 he was licensed medical practitioner at 



Fac-Simile of Presentation. 41 



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&:£&//& */ejt//0£e6f*t*l4n/ as£e &*iom c/fe*n eesS'/b-i re eet/e*i &j 

dlV ££7siA p/(PSS /totf'/uiex' ' J7~t/£/eri <rr#j£~.~/£~ e A//teJerTi &:r</ 







* Document prepared by Dr. Arnold. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 83 

him the sincere friendship of all the inmates of the institution. 
He now became the munificent benefactor of the institution. The 
" Arnold Collection " as it now stands, after eleven years of added 
effort on his part to enlarge and beautify it, is a magnificent 
monument to his cultivation of mind, and to his extraordinary per- 
sistency of purpose, amid long hours of labor, in classifying, label- 
ing, and cataloguing the entire collection. 

We insert the document conveying the gift, the terms of which 
are free from those troublesome conditions usually imposed under 
like circumstances. 

Death of Very Rev. William Starrs, D. D., V. G. 
The Very Rev. William Starrs, D. D., V.G., died on the 6th of 
February, 1873. At the Commencement in June a touching trib- 
ute was paid to his memory by Miss Carey, the effect of which 
was much heightened by a beautiful portrait of the venerable eccle- 
siastic. When dying, he had sent a special blessing to the inmates 
of Mount St. Vincent. Never, except once when in Europe, had 
he been absent on any occasion fraught with interest to the 

Academy. 

Feast of Corpus Christi, June 12, 1873. 

Rev. James J. Dougherty sang his first High Mass at the 

Mount. 

Apothecaries' Hall, London, and in 1844 made a member of the Royal College of Surgeons 
of England (the two constituting the fully qualified medical practitioner of England). In 
1848 he received the M. D. degree from the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He 
began as an assistant to a large practice in the suburbs of London." — [Extract from a bio- 
graphical notice in a work on eminent physicians?) 

He married a daughter of the late Hon. James R. Whiting, of New York, and came to 
reside in the village of Yonkers, N. Y. He has been identified, as its originator, with a great 
philanthropic movement not yet accomplished. Up to the time of his retirement therefrom, 
he was regarded as a representative man in his great profession. 



8 4 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 




Donor ; A nnie O* Rourke. 



June 31, 1873. 
The Right Rev. Patrick Lynch, D. D., of Charleston, South 
Carolina, came and spent some days here. 

September, 1873. 
The Right Rev. William Gross, D. D., Bishop of Savannah, 
Georgia, paid a visit of some days. On the Feast of the Seven 
Dolors he preached a beautiful and appropriate sermon. 

The Chapel Enlarged. 
Excavations for the extension of the chapel had been begun 
on May 1, 1872. The work was happily completed in 1874, and 
in "The Catholic Review" of that year we find the following 
account of the dedication : 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



85 



Dedication ok the Chapel, and Consecration of its Three 

Altars. 

" The ceremonies of the consecration of an altar are extremely 
solemn and impressive, as also of comparatively rare occurrence, at 
least in this country. A solemnity of this kind took place last 
Wednesday, the Festival of the Annunciation B. V. M., at Mount 
St. Vincent, that miniature Eden on the Hudson, which its pupils 
and friends affectionately prefer to term 'the Mount.' 

" About two years ago the Sisters found that their chapel was 
becoming too small to accommodate their rapidly increasing com- 
munity and school. They therefore determined to enlarge it, trust- 
ing to Providence for the means ; and the result is the present 
handsome structure, with its exquisitely beautiful interior. 

" The late Archbishop Hughes was wont laughingly to say that 
when he wanted a good work started by the Sisters of Charity, or 
even a building erected for charitable purposes, he had only to hint 
it to the Sisters, and forthwith it sprang into being before his 
very eyes, almost like Aladdin's palace. He knew full well that, 
somewhere or other, the good Sisters would find kind friends to 
provide ' the wonderful lamp.' As then, so now. One reverend 
gentleman, who is unwilling to have his name made known, de- 
frayed the expenses of the main altar and St. Joseph's, both of 
purest Parian marble. The same generous friend donated the mag- 
nificent altar-piece, a fresco of the Crucifixion, executed by Signor 
Brumidi. Another friend, residing in the vicinity, provided the 
side-altar of the Blessed Virgin, also of Parian marble. A third, 
now deceased, gave the fine organ constructed by H. Roosevelt, 

under the supervision of Professor Gustavus Schmitz, and a perfect 

12 




MAIN ALTAR.' 



Donors: Olive Chatjield and A unit- Crimmins. 

From a photograph taken by Rev. Clarence Woodman, O. S. P. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 87 

miniature musical world in itself. Many other friends also were 
most liberal in their contributions, thus relieving the Sisters of a 
great part of the pecuniary burden. 

" Absolutely speaking, the chapel was finished more than six 
months ago. During the interval, the Superioress — like some fond 
artist touching and retouching his masterpiece — has been adding, 
day by day, a something more, and yet a something more ; until 
at last it seemed perfect even to her eyes, and the time for the 
dedication had come. 

" His Grace, the Most Rev. Archbishop McCloskey, being un- 
able to officiate himself, invited to take his place the Right Rev. 
Bishop McNierny, Coadjutor of Albany, to whom the Mount is 
endeared by many hallowed associations, and who is venerated and 
beloved by all its inmates. 

" The peculiar grace and dignity with which this prelate per- 
forms the grand and beautiful ceremonials of the Church are well 
known ; nor were they wanting on the present occasion, while his 
full, rich voice, filling as it did the entire edifice, was a sound not 
easily to be forgotten. 

" Shortly after 7 a. m. the consecration of the three altars was 
commenced, the Bishop being assisted by Rev. L. Musart, chap- 
lain ; Rev. I. DAubresse, S. J., confessor of the Sisters ; Rev. M. 
Curran, Rev. J. Shadier, Rev. J. J. Dougherty, Rev. J. Riordan, 
and Rev. J. Kearney, of the Cathedral, master of ceremonies ; and 
it had scarcely been concluded, when the great bell in the con- 
vent-tower sounded forth, over the Hudson, the hour of ten, the 
rocky heights beyond sending back the echo again and again. 

" Previous to this, the 8.25 train from New York had brought 
a large concourse of Sisters ; for, the celebration being a peculiarly 



88 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

domestic as well as religious one, all the missions (of which the 
community numbers about forty) were glad to send as many repre- 
sentatives as possible. 

" The nave of the spacious chapel was soon filled, almost ex- 
clusively with the Sisterhood and the pupils of the Academy ; and 
a little after ten the procession issued from the sacristy in the fol- 
lowing order, and the ceremonies of the dedication commenced : 

" Rev. J. Riordan, Assistant Master of Ceremonies. 

Cross-bearer 

and 

Acolytes. 

Rev. C. Slevin, Rev. P. McCarthy, 

Rev. I. D'Aubresse, S. J. ; Rev. L. Musart, 

Rev. Dr. Brann, Rev. J. Kearney, Master of Ceremonies. 

Rev. J. Shadler, Rev. J. J. Dougherty, 

Rev. M. Curran, High Priest. 

Right Rev. F. McNierny, D. D. 

Bishop's Acolytes. 

" In less than half an hour, the dedication being concluded, 
the procession proceeded from the sacristy a second time, for the 
celebration of the Pontifical Mass, His Grace having granted to 
Bishop McNierny all the privileges he himself would enjoy on 
such an occasion. The Bishop was assisted by Rev. M. Curran, 
high priest ; Rev. I. D'Aubresse, S. J., and Rev. Henry A. Brann, 
D. D., deacons of honor ; Rev. J. Shadier, deacon ; Rev. J. J. 
Dougherty, sub-deacon ; Rev. J. F. Kearney, master of ceremo- 
nies ; Rev. J. Riordan, assistant master of ceremonies. 

" The music was exquisite ; Generali's Mass in G minor, Merca- 
dante's Quam Dilccta and Tantum Ergo forming the chief part 
of the programme. This selection was rendered by the convent 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 89 

choir, whose voices are not only naturally fine and, moreover, 
highly cultivated, but are full of a deep religious feeling — a soul— 
which, perhaps, can never be found outside a consecrated clioir ; 
and, when to this we add that the grand new organ gave forth its 
richest tones in response to the masterly touch of Professor Gus- 
tavus Schmitz, we have said enough. 

" The grand ceremonial of the Pontifical Mass being over, and 
the Bishop having retired, Dr. Brann, the orator of the day, ascend- 
ed the steps of the altar. His text was a brief but deep one : 
'And the Word was made flesh.' In his own peculiarly happy and 
philosophic style, he showed the connection between the beautiful 
ceremonies they had just witnessed and the awful mystery of the 
Incarnation, dwelt upon the necessity of religious rites to raise 
the senses of man to their Creator, and adduced in confirma- 
tion the Jewish ceremonials and the example of Christ himself. 
Turning from these thoughts — which, as he said, the occasion drew 
forth — to those which the spot whereon he stood inspired, he 
alluded in eloquent terms to the vast strides which Catholicity had 
made on the banks of the Hudson since the day on which its 
famed discoverer first steered bis bark along its placid waters. 
Having held his auditors spell-bound thus far, Dr. Brann gracefully 
concluded by touching upon the share which the Sisters of Char- 
ity had taken in the good work, and wishing them an increase of 
zeal and energy, of grace and sanctity, to be crowned by the bliss 
of the just. 

" Bishop McNierny having again appeared in the sanctuary, 
with the Very Rev. William Ouinn, V. G., Rev. M. J. O'Farrell, 
of St. Peter's, New York, and Rev. A. Lings, of Yonkers, the 
reverend gentlemen previously named being already there, now 



go HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

gave the Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament, and the beau- 
tiful procession wended its way back to the sacristy. 

" By this time the sun had long passed the meridian, and the 
reverend guests soon after retired to partake of such refreshments 
as the Lenten season would allow. 

" Five o'clock saw the last lingering visitors on their way to 
the train, admiring the surrounding scenery, beautiful even in its 
wintry dreariness, and welcoming the first faint touches of spring, 
palpable in the milder air, and visible in the calmly flowing waters 
of the Hudson, or the pale tints of green struggling into life on 
the extensive lawn." 

First Communion and Confirmation. 

To the happy few invited to Mount St. Vincent Convent the 
scenes of yesterday"' will long be remembered with a thrill of 
delight. The day had been selected by the good Sisters as the 
one on which themselves and the students should have the honor 
of receiving his Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop. As all the 
preparations to be made for the reception had been completed, 
and as all those especially interested in the occasion had been 
welcomed, the menace of the weather did not even mar the anti- 
cipation of a pleasant time. The day was truly a gala-day. At 
eight in the morning his Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop, who 
had arrived from town the previous evening, celebrated mass in 
the convent-chapel. At this mass eight little girls received their 
first communion while twenty-one others communicated, and all 
were confirmed by his Eminence later in the day. As the Cardi- 
nal left the altar after the mass, and was about to proceed down 

* We quote from a public journal. 



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HISTORICAL SKETCH. 93 

the middle aisle of the chapel, more than twenty little ones, all clad 
in white, wearing veils and wreaths, filed out of the pews on either 
side and preceded him. Immediately after the Cardinal came the 
other students, all in white veils. When near the door the ad- 
vanced children assumed a kneeling posture, and those behind 
followed their example. Evidently his Eminence was not prepared 
for the little ceremony, for he stood a moment seemingly at a loss 
how to proceed. It was only for a moment — a smile lit up his 
face, and, with bowed heads, they all received his benediction. 
Before the procession was resumed, he spoke a few words to them, 
which, like all his college and convent words, were sweet and 
simple. 

At two o'clock all the children were assembled in the chapel 
of the convent, and in about fifteen minutes the Cardinal, accom- 
panied by twelve priests, proceeded up the middle aisle, and, after 
a short prayer, he was divested of some of his princely robes and 
vested as a bishop. 

Beckoning to the standing congregation to be seated, the Car- 
dinal sat down, and spoke in substance as follows : 

" My dear children, you are now about to receive a sacrament which will 
confirm the impression made on your soul by baptism. Like baptism, you can 
receive it but once, and its mark will remain on your soul as long as you live ; 
and when the soul is separated from the flesh, it will still remain to bear testi- 
mony for or against you. You remember that, on Pentecost, the apostles being 
assembled together, heard a great noise as of the blowing of mighty winds. 
They were afraid, and did not know what was about to happen. Suddenly a 
light illumined the place, and, looking up, they saw that tongues of fire were 
descending on the head of each. Shortly after they felt that they had been en- 
dowed with extraordinary powers. Now, my dear children, you will see no visible 
sign by which you may know that the Holy Ghost has made an abode in your 
souls, but your faith teaches you, and you believe that He will indeed come and 
'3 




HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL JOHN McCLOSKEY. 
Donors : The Misses O'Rorke. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



95 



be with you. If you keep your souls as pure as they are to-day, He will remain 
and beautify them with all those graces which are and should be coveted by 
every Roman Catholic." 

Here he finished, and the little ones filed out of the pews and 
proceeded up to the altar-rail, where a profound genuflection was 
made. In couples they ascended the steps of the altar, and were 
confirmed. 

After the confirmation there was benediction of the Blessed 
Sacrament. During the benediction an original " Laudamus," com- 
posed for the occasion by Mr. Gustavus Schmitz, was sung. It 
was arranged for altos only, and the Misses Postlewaite, Ward, and 
Dunn executed their parts creditably. " Tantum Ergo" (Rossi) 
concluded the musical ceremonies of the afternoon. 

Reception of the Cardinal. 

The visitors were ushered into the grand hall about 6 p. m., to 
await the illustrious guests. Meanwhile all had leisure to admire 
the rich and tasteful decorations, the general effect of which was 
most imposing. The windows were all draped with scarlet, covered 
with lace, and festoons of rich lace, embroidered in gold and purple, 
hung in the intermediate spaces. The recess running back from 
the platform was hung in scarlet embroidery edged with gold ; 
while another fall of royal-purple drapery was gracefully festooned 
at the back within the recess, which was reached by an elegantly 
carpeted flight of steps. Above the princely throne, " God bless 
our Cardinal " flashed out in tiny gas-jets. Opposite, on the gal- 
lery-front, were the magical words, " Pio Nono," emblazoned in 
gold, and above these hung the Papal banner, so welcome to 
Christian eyes and so dear to Christian hearts. Numerous baskets 



9 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

of flowers stood on pedestals against the pillars and in other prom- 
inent positions, making the air all balm and fragrance, while the 
summer zephyrs, gently fanning the drapery of the casements, gave 
a delicious sense and look of coolness to the shaded hall. 

As the Cardinal and his illustrious attendants entered, the first 
notes of the grand march broke on the ear, and to the sound of 
the inspiring strain, and preceded by a group of fairies moving in 
graceful and ever-varying figures, the distinguished guests advanced 
to their elevated position at the head of the hall, the Cardinal in 
the center, on his right Right Rev. Francis McNierny, D. D., of 
Albany ; Very Rev. William Ouinn, V. G. ; Very Rev. Thomas 
Preston, V. G. ; Dr. Ubaldi, and Rev. John M. Farley; and, on his 
left, the Ablegate Monsignor Roncetti, Count Marofoschi, and 
Rev. John Kearney. About one hundred of the principal clergy- 
men of New Vork followed. 

Gracefully executed miniature programmes were distributed, 
printed in gold lettering : 

Congratulatory Reception of His Eminence Cardinal McCloskey. 
Mount St. Vincent, May 20, 1875. 



Grand March. 
Duet and Chorus. 
Addresses. 



God bless the Pope. 
Our Cardinal's Greeting. 



Our Cardinal's Greeting. 

[Synopsis.] 

The guardian Genius of the Mount, while soliloquizing in a strain of con- 
tentment, is suddenly informed by the Anemoi, or Winds, of the arrival of his 
Eminence. Anxious to do honor to so great a guest, the Genius summons the 
Dryades, Naiades, and Oreides, to learn if Nature has done her part of prepara- 
tion. These Nymphs confess that their respective haunts are not as lovely as 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. gj 

they would wish. The Genius then calls the Muses, who joyously agree to do 
their best ; and to their aid they call the Graces. 

We know of nothing within recent years which quite equaled 
the graceful elegance of this demonstration. Every one, including 
the Cardinal and the Papal envoys, was charmed with the spirit 
and manner of the young ladies, through whom, indeed, as the 
Cardinal pointed out, their kind teachers' influence was visible, al- 
though the teachers themselves were invisible. We should have 
been glad to have had the worst enemy of Catholic and convent 
education with us on that day. He would never doubt hereafter 
what a nun can do in forming a bright, intelligent, and graceful 
young girl ! 

Reduced to the barest outline of the programme — and we do 
not undertake to do more than summarize — the reception consisted 
of suitable musical selections, including the song, " God bless the 
Pope," and then addresses in French, English, and Latin. We give 
these in full. 

The French address was very gracefully delivered by Miss 
Aimde Reynaud. 

" MONSEIGNEUR, MONSIGNOR, ET VOUS HoNORABLES MESSIEURS : C'est avec 

les sentiments de la joie la plus vraie que nous vous souhaitons la bienvenue a 
Mont St. Vincent ! L'honneur de votre visite, Monsignor, est un de ces rares 
bonkeurs dont on ne peut esp^rer jouir plus d'une fois dans la vie ; et les ex- 
pressions nous manquent pour vous dire toute /'/motion qui remplit nos cceurs 
dans ce moment heureux. 

" Toujours et en toute ctrconstancc, Messieurs les Legats de notre Saint-Pere 
seraient recus avec joie parmi nous. En tout temps nous les saluerions avec la 
plus grande veneration, la plus vive allegresse — mais aujourd'hui, aujourd'hui 
qu'ils nous apportent l'heureuse nouvelle de l'elevation de notre bien aimd et 
vendre Pontife a une dignite a laquelle il peut si bien faire honneur, par ses 
talents et ses merites, aujourd'hui, Messieurs, nous voudrions semer des fleurs 



98 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

sur votre passage, baiser avec respect et reconnaissance le bord de vos vete- 
ments. 

" Et vous redisant combien nous sommes heureuses d'etre honorees de votre 
presence, nous vous prions, Monsignor, de daigner presenter a notre Pontife Su- 
preme, a celui qui est Roi a tous les titres, a Pie Neuf, l'assurance de notre 
entier devouement. 

" Malgr6 l'immense ocean qui nous separe de la terre privilegiee qui le re- 
clame d'une maniere particuliere, neanmoins, il n'est, sous le ciel Italien, nuls 
cceurs plus fideles, plus devouees a Pie Neuf que ne le sont ceux des Sceurs 
et des Aleves du Mont St. Vincent. 

" Agreez de nouveau, Monsignor et honorables Messieurs, l'expression de notre 
joie et de notre reconnaissance pour ces instants de bonheur." 

Miss McCall's English address will speak for itself; and Miss 
McGuire's Latin address will bring far and wide ample testimony 
of the devotion of American women to the august and suffering 
head of the Church. 

Address. 

" Most Venerable and Beloved Cardinal Archbishop: Since last we had 
the honor of addressing your Eminence, an event has taken place which has 
awakened a thrill of delight in every Catholic heart throughout this vast repub- 
lic, which has called forth strains of joy and thanksgiving from all who rejoice 
to see honored the great and good — an event which will form an era in the his- 
tory of the Catholic Church in this hemisphere, and which shall be a source of 
joy, even to succeeding generations. 

" Need we speak of it ? Your scarlet robe anticipates us. We mean the 
elevation of one so beloved, so venerated, so worthy, to the rank of a prince of 
the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. 

" With heart-felt joy, then, we congratulate your Eminence ; we congratulate 
the Church of this country — we rejoice with the Church universal ; we rejoice at 
our own joy, in living at an epoch in which the current of our young lives is 
brightened by the sunshine of so auspicious an event as the creation of the first 
American Cardinal. Ah ! could the shade of a Carroll or a Cheverus arise at 
this moment, and behold that Church which they knew in its infancy, now like 
a giant pursuing its course — could the early missionaries, a Jogues or a Mar- 
quette, a White or a Druillette, now look upon that land in which they labored 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



99 



and toiled, or which they bedewed with their blood — could they behold it now, 
exulting in its millions of Catholics, its magnificent hierarchy, and its prelate- 
prince — second in dignity only to the Holy Father himself — how would they 
exclaim : ' Great are the works of the Lord, and wonderful in His ways ! ' What 
do I say ? From heaven they look down upon this scene, and rejoice in our 
joy ! O all ye holy American prelates and priests on high ! Your toils and 
struggles are rewarded ! O saintly Jogues, and all ye holy martyrs on the crim- 
son records of North America ! ye are avenged ! Avenged as God only avenges, 
by new blessings on the Church of your love — the scene of your toils — the land 
of Mary Immaculate ! 

" Yes ! even as we speak, we seem to hear celestial voices echoing our joyful 
lay : Long live, long live and reign — long live to bless his faithful flock, his 
Eminence Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York ! " 

Latin Address. 

" Eminentissime Pater, Illustrissime Domine, Reverendissime Pr^esul, 
Patresque Reverendi : Nobis liceat lingua ecclesiae tarn cara, cogitationes jam 
expressas iterare, quibus amorem cordium erga summum Pontificem patrem supre- 
mum tarn dira nunc patientem ferventius exprimamus. Dolores ejus tot sunt 
gemmae nostris oculis ; ejusque caput glorise corona, quacumque temporali pros- 
peritate sublimiore, pulcherrime ornant. 

" Ilium amaremus patientem cum Christo cruqifixo vel laetantem cum Christo 
resurrecto, etiam si nos non amaret ; sed quando pras oculis in honore bene 
amato nostro patri collato, sollicitudinis ejus signum habemus ; corda nostra juve- 
nilia exultant latanturque — 

" Die igitur te quassumus, reverendissime pnesul, patri nostro summo quan- 
tum sit amoris in pectoribus nostris quantasque illi gratias agamus. Die illi 
quanta sit in illius miseriis nostra sympathia, quamque cum illo pati usque ad 
mortem et sanguinis effusionem omnes paratse simus. Ploramus quando de ca- 
lamitatibus illi ab impiis inflictis loqui audimus. Ploramus sed non sine spe ; 
quia inter fletus lacrymasque nostras, spei illuminatio aliquando venit sicut inter 
pluvia et nubes solis radius ad tenebras effugandas effulget. 

" In summo pontifice patiente imaginem Salvatoris patientis videmus, dum 
crucifigitur spes et fides jam resurrectionem et triumphum indicant. Die illi nos 
filias ejus devotas quotidie pro illo exorare Deum Omnipotentem ut inimicos 
ejus superbos humiliet, ecclesiamque suam a potestate despotica liberet obsecra- 
mus. De longinquo et trans mare ad ilium manus supplices tendimus et corda sub- 



IO o HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

levamus, benedictionem ejus apostolicam impetrantes, dum semper gaudium nostrum 
maximum et privilegium carissimum erit Pii Noni filiae devotissimae vocari et esse." 

At its close the Graces offered his Eminence an exquisitely 
pure and beautiful symbol of a heart, typifying the united affection 
of the pupils and Sisters, and containing a pectoral cross set in 
diamonds. This cross had been left as a dying gift to the com- 
munity by the late Most Reverend Archbishop Hughes, thus en- 
abling the Sisters to present to his Eminence, who is their acting 
Superior-General, this graceful and appropriate proof of their heart- 
felt affection. 

We have never witnessed any reception more delightful than 
this at the Mount. Every one was more than gratified, and the 
great pleasure which his Eminence unmistakably displayed was 
created by an exhibition of affection which seemed as heart-felt as 
it was grateful. 

The Cardinal arose and complimented all on the brilliant suc- 
cess of the entertainment. His Eminence went on to remark that, 
in most of the ovations and receptions that had been given him 
since his elevation, there had been always present an arduous 
sense of the duty devolving on him ; but that in this charming 
festival at Mount St. Vincent there was nothing but what was 
soothing and refreshing to the mind, while the charm of poetry 
and, so to say, of romance pervading all, has made it truly delight- 
ful. Some of their distinguished guests, he said, were there that 
afternoon for the first, and alas ! most probably for the last time ; 
but, as for himself, the occasion had been one of such unalloyed 
enjoyment, he should never cease to revert with pleasure to the 
happy memories of this reception, and, while life remained to him, 
they would see him at Mount St. Vincent. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. IO i 

Miss Postlevvait gracefully presented to Monsignor Roncetti a 
handsomely engrossed Latin address, requesting him to present it 
to the Holy Father. 

Monsignor Roncetti replied in French, assuring the young 
ladies that he knew that the persecuted Holy Father would be 
consoled in his affliction by their kind sympathies. He added 
that he had attended many receptions, but that he had never seen 
a more graceful compliment extended. 

May 12. 

Right Rev. William McCloskey, D. D., Bishop of Louisville, 
Ky., paid a visit to the Academy. 

Visit of His Grace of Halifax. 

Archbishop Connolly spent some time here in June, 1876. He 
visited every portion of the Institution, and made an address to 
the pupils, who had greeted him with music and song. 

June 2, 1877. 

Right Rev. Mgr. Silas Chatard, President of the American 
College in Rome, said mass, and visited the classes. He addressed 
the graduates for an hour or more on the evils of the day. He 
dwelt long on the frothy literature which is so dangerous to morals. 
His words made a deep impression, and his interested, earnest, pa- 
ternal manner made each one feel that in him she had a sincere 
friend and an enlightened counselor. 

'4 



102 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Sept. 30, 1877. 

The Golden Jubilee of the Superioress was celebrated by a 
special entertainment in her honor in the Study Hall ; an original 
drama, "The Feast of the Golden Ingots," was enacted by the 
pupils. 

Right Rev. John Loughlin, D. D., Very Rev. William Quinn, 
V. G., a number of clergymen, Charles O'Conor, Esq., John E. 
Develin, Esq., ct a/., were present. 

Professor Thomas Alva Edison gives a Public Entertain- 
ment — his Visit to Mount St. Vincent and Edwin For- 
rest's Castle. 

{Extract front a public journal. ) 

Few of the passengers awaiting the departure of the 9.10 train 
from the Grand Central Depot, May 30, 1878, were aware of the 
presence of Thomas A. Edison, the marvelous inventor. Mr. Edi- 
son was on his way to the Academy Mount St. Vincent, for the 
purpose of exhibiting his speaking phonograph, telephone, and elec- 
tric pen. The inventor rarely appears in public. A sister of one 
of his old Kentucky friends is a pupil in the Academy, and he 
consented to appear, as a mark of friendship for her brother. Mr. 
Edison was accompanied by Charles Batchelor, an intimate friend 
of many years ; S. L. Griffin, his secretary ; Martin Force and 
George Carman, assistants ; and Mr. McLaughlin, the displayer of 
the electric pen. 

On alighting, Mr. Edison and party were received by the rev- 
erend chaplain, who conducted them to the Academy. The invent- 
or wore a high silk hat ; he said it was a new hat, but would not 
acknowledge to his friends that it had been purchased for the oc- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 103 

casion. The good Sister in charge of the institution received him 
with great cordiality. He was taken to the chapel, where the pews 
were filled with black-robed Sisters, assisting at mass. Though 
much impressed with the service, the great inventor seemed sadly 
out of place. He was evidently unfamiliar with the ecclesiastical 
surroundings. While the Sister and the kind father knelt, he 
stepped behind a pew, put his hand to his ear, and endeavored to 
catch the words of the celebrant. He was lost in thought when 
the good father touched his arm as a sign to go, and the action 
was misconstrued by him. He seemed to think it was a reflection 
on his lack of reverence, for he stooped as though about to fall on 
his knees, and remained with bowed head. The Sisters showed 
him the Music Hall, and the thirty-five pianos used by the schol- 
ars in practicing. They were in separate rooms in the second 
story. He seemed much surprised to learn that at certain hours 
they were all in use at the same time. From class-room to class- 
room he walked, with his hands behind his back. Rosy-cheeked 
pupils gazed at him in awe. Geological and astronomical charts 
were shown him. When he entered an apartment where there 
was a small steam-engine, he brightened up in an instant, and 
turned the fly-wheel and caressed it as a man would caress his 
dog. All the scientific apparatus excited his interest. 

After a thorough inspection of the Academy, the party were 
conducted to the Norman castle, built by Edwin Forrest over 
thirty years ago. Mr. Forrest bought the ground in 1842. While 
the castle was being built, he spent two winters with his charming 
wife in a stone cottage near by. When the castle was completed, 
he filled it with choice paintings and exquisite furniture, but the 
most of it was never unpacked. A great domestic storm broke 



I0 4 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

over the head of the actor. His life was blighted, but his heart 
ever turned toward his beautiful residence. He visited it many 
times after the property fell into the hands of the Sisters of Char- 
ity. On the morning that his death was announced by telegram, 
a letter from him reached the Mount. 

Mrs. Forrest visited the castle but once after the decree of 
divorce. The Sisters showed her over the place without recog- 
nizing her. The castle is octagonal in shape. The rotunda was 
Mr. Forrest's picture-gallery, and the parlors, dining-room, Mrs. 
Forrest's boudoir, the tragedian's library, and other apartments 
opened upon it. Two picture-frames are imbedded in the walls. 
The library is now filled with a fine mineral cabinet, presented by 
Dr. Edmund S. F. Arnold. 

Mr. Edison and party were shown what is called the Cardinal's 
room. It is occupied by Cardinal McCloskey, who annually spends 
a few weeks in this delightful place. A painting of St. Peter's 
escape from prison, after Michael Angelo, adorns its walls. The 
apartment is richly furnished. A costly Bible lay upon the table 
with a volume of Father Lacordaire's sermons. After inspecting 
the castle, Mr. Edison's party was invited to dinner in a private 
parlor. Mr. Edison was seated at table just opposite a painting 
three hundred years old. It is a representation of the Child and 
Virgin. A hum as from a hive of bees arose from below. Over 
two hundred pupils were dining and talking in the refectory be- 
neath. One of the most striking paintings in the institution is an 
illustration of the life-duties of the Sisters of Charity. It is valued 
at several thousand dollars, and was presented to the Academy by 
the Hon. John Kelly. 

During dinner, Mr. Edison spoke of his recent trip to Wash- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 105 

ington. He visited the White House with a phonograph at one 
in the morning, and was cordially greeted by Messrs. Hayes and 
Schurz. Mrs. Hayes had retired, but, on hearing that the wonder- 
ful inventor was down-stairs, she arose and quickly joined the 
party. Every attention was paid to Mr. Edison, but, as he wanted 
to catch the 2 a. m. train, he was compelled to decline extended 
civilities. He spoke of Mrs. Hayes in the highest terms ; but 
smilingly added, " I scanned her husband's forehead very carefully, 
but the letters were not there." 

After dinner, a phonograph was placed upon a table on the 
platform of the lecture-room. The Sisters filled the galleries, and 
the invited guests and the pupils were seated in the hall. Mr. 
Edison ascended the platform, and was greeted with a round of 
applause. He was somewhat embarrassed, but made a half-bow to 
the audience. He was told that he was expected to make a speech, 
explaining his remarkable discovery, and giving an idea of the uses 
to which it could be put. The proposition seemed to take away 
his breath. He declared that it was impossible. He had never 
made a speech in all his life, and would not wish to attempt one. 
After being introduced, Mr. Edison sat down, put his lips to the 
mouth-piece, and, in a clear, sonorous tone, recited the following : 

" The dying soldier faltered, and he took that comrade's hand, 
And he said : ' I never more shall see my own, my native land ; 
Take a message and a token to some distant friends of mine, 
For I was born at Bingen, at Bingen on the Rhine.' " 

The professor then readjusted the instrument, placed a large 
paper funnel over the mouth-piece, pointed it over the head of his 
audience, and turned the crank. The words were repeated perfect 



io6 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



in tone and accent, and were distinctly heard in every part of the 
lecture-room. Mr. Edison then whistled "Yankee Doodle" and 
counted twenty-five over the same matrix. They were all repro- 
duced together as follows : 



BlNGEN. 

The dying soldier fal- 
tered, and he took that 
comrade's hand, and he 
said : " I never more shall 
see my own, my native 
land ; take a message and 
a token," etc. 



Yankee Doodle. 

Whoo-whoo-whoo 
whoo, who-who-who, 
wh oo- w hoo- whoo-whoo- 
whoo, who, who ! Whoo- 
whoo-whoo-whoo, who- 
who-who, who, who, who, 
who, who, who-who ! 



The Count. 

One ! Two ! Three ! 
Four ! Five ! Six ! Sev- 
en ! Eight ! Nine ! Ten ! 
Eleven ! Twelve ! Thir- 
teen ! Fourteen ! Fifteen ! 
Sixteen ! Seventeen! 
Eighteen ! Nineteen! 
Twenty ! Twenty-one, etc. 



A storm of applause followed. The professor then talked to 
the machine thus : 

" There was a little girl, 

And she had a little curl 
Right in the middle of her forehead, 

And when she was good, 

She was very, very good, 
And when she was bad, she was horrid." 

It came out of the machine so perfectly, that the audience 

was convulsed with laughter. The phonograph then sang in a clear 

tone — 

"John Brown had a little Indian," 

And followed it up by whistling — 

" Oh, happy, happy, happy be thy dreams." 

After talking French, laughing, coughing, imitating the cackle 
of a hen, and winding up, in a broad Yankee accent, with the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 107 

words, " Well, I do declare ! " the inventor made a low bow, and 
retired amid applause. Mr. Batchelor took his place, and kept the 
spectators in extraordinary good humor. The telephone was then 
exhibited. Through the use of the paper funnel, persons singing 
in a room a hundred and fifty feet away were heard by the audi- 
ence. A music-box played at the other end of the wire was also 
audible. The instrument was a common telephone, and should 
not be confounded with the musical machine, which is much more 
wonderful. 

Mr. McLaughlin then exhibited Edison's celebrated electric 
pen, which has since then become so generally known. 

This closed the entertainment of this great magician of science. 
The good Sisters warmly thanked him, and he hastened to the cars. 

The Cardinal at Mount St. Vincent, May, 1878. 

{The Tablet.) 

On Tuesday, the 4th inst, His Eminence the Cardinal paid a 
visit to Mount St. Vincent's Academy, on the Hudson, and re- 
ceived a gracious and cordial welcome home from the pupils of 
that widely known institution of learning. Had His Eminence, in 
repairing to this beautiful spot on the Hudson, been prompted by 
a desire merely to seek surcease from the toils and troubles of 
official life, he certainly could not have selected one more to the 
purpose, nor chosen company fitter to smooth a wrinkle from the 
brow of care. A peerless day in May can lend charms to a scene 
however tame, but, when such a day sheds its soft radiance over a 
lovely land and river view, the effect is indeed delightful. A 
balmy breeze from the south stirred the summer foliage, and barely 
ruffled the waters of the Hudson, while shade and sunshine played 



\ 



108 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

alternately over both. On the opposite bank rose the stern Pali- 
sades, which had lost for the nonce their forbidding character, and 
served both as a background to a dense and luxuriant forest-growth 
and a screen of relief to the snowy sails which from time to time 
flecked the bosom of the stream, and framed in the scene with such 
varying effects of color as the eye could never tire of. A sloping 
lawn of emerald, separating the castle from the Academy, refreshed 
the eye by the brilliancy of its verdure, while the air was laden 
with the fragrance of early summer. 

His Eminence, accompanied by the Very Rev. Vicar-General 
Ouinn, Rev. Father Edward O'Reilly, Rev. Father Curran, Rev. 
Father Musart, chaplain to the house, and Dr. C. M. O'Leary, 
walked from the castle, that specimen of mediaeval structure which 
bears testimony to the exquisite taste of the late Edwin Forrest, 
and, after a detour which led him through graveled walks, fringed 
with turf and flanked by blooming parterres, reached the spa- 
cious hall of the Academy. Here the fair pupils of the Mount 
were assembled, fresh from their class-rooms, ready to greet their 
beloved chief pastor and Cardinal, unprepared, but with hearts full 
of warm affection, which they knew would be a far more accept- 
able earnest of their welcome than the most elaborate preparation. 
As His Eminence entered, the young ladies gracefully rose, while 
their eyes bespoke their delight at seeing one so beloved restored 
to them once more safe from the perils of the deep. The Cardinal 
advanced to the platform at the end of the hall, took his seat 
among the reverend clergy, and graciously signaled all to be seated 
likewise. 

A number of young ladies, dressed in black, but wearing deep 
sashes of cardinal-red, here entered the hall, and, with measured 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 109 

tread, approached the platform, while they sang sweet words of wel- 
come to His Eminence. The song being ended, Miss H. C. Grosz 
stepped in front of her companions and recited a little poem, which 
welled over with sentiments of love and veneration. She acquitted 
herself most charmingly. Her elocution was admirable, and all her 
movements were filled with grace. 

Greeting. 

Your Eminence : 

In all humility 

The daughters of St. Vincent welcome thee. 

Though awe's strange spelj upon the spirit falls — 

For thy high dignity the soul appalls, 

And our deep sense of worthlessness still more — 

Therefore we would remind, while we implore 

Indulgence, that e'en Deity will hear 

The greeting of the simple, the sincere. 

There was a vine-clad home in olden days 

That stood where Bethany's palm-shadowed ways 

Lay on the southern slope of Olivet — 

A home where Faith and Love and Sorrow met 

To dwell with Peace. It was the bower fair 

Of holiest sisterhood ; for Mary there — 

She of the beauteous hair and balmy urn — 

Unsought with Martha dwelt ; for worldlings turn 

From solitudes of prayer ; and therefore oft 

The garden-lilies bowed before a soft 

And measured Footstep, and the doves, snow-white, 

Nested amid the fig-leaves, cooed delight. 

One came, for Whom the soul need never wait, 

His priests attend to open wide the gate ; 

One, for whom Martha, kneeling, opened wide, 

While Magdalen sank, prostrate, at her side ; — 

Sank, till her silken tresses swept the sands 

Beneath the blessing of those outstretched Hands. 
15 



IIO HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

He entered, not as one at home's sweet goal ; — 

Exemplar of the apostolic soul, 

He claims not home or kindred. To repose 

Awhile amid the loving, — to disclose 

The secrets of His love ; - for this He sought 

The roof where Mary wept and Martha wrought. 

May not thy welcome here be figure meet 

Of that sweet record, — oh, how strangely sweet ! 

Earth's Priest Divine, thy daughters see in thee ; 

We would a type of His recipients be. 



His Eminence then rose, and in his usual happy manner re- 
turned thanks to the young ladies for their impromptu but hearty 
reception. He said that he could not stir in their bosoms the 
same pleasurable feelings they had awakened in his ; for, whereas 
they had welcomed him in the tuneful accents of song and in the 
flowing measures of poetry, he was compelled to reply in the sober 
tones of prose, and a prose which was not at all musical. Speak- 
ing of his recent visit abroad, he remarked that it had befallen him 
to visit Rome while the Eternal City was still clad in the habili- 
ments of mourning, refusing to be comforted for the loss she had 
sustained in the death of Pius IX, and to behold her again rejoic- 
ing that she had found one so worthy to succeed him. His Emi- 
nence referred feelingly to the great and numerous virtues which 
adorn the character of his present Holiness, and ended his remarks 
by begging all present to pray for Leo XIII, a request which he 
several times repeated in a subdued voice. 

Thus ended the Cardinal's first visit to Mount St. Vincent 
since his return from Europe ; and, if the combined charms of 
nature and of art, if a welcome which was rendered doubly such 
by its spontaneous character and by the heartiness with which it 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. Ill 

overflowed, have power to impress the memory of an event, this 
one will not quickly fade from his recollection. 

The Most Rev. John B. Purcell, D. D., accompanied His Emi- 
nence to the Mount in May, 1879. The Archbishop remained a 
week or more. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Archbishop 
assisted at the high mass. Altars had been erected at the Shrine 
of St. Vincent de Paul, at that of the Sacred Heart, and of Our 
Lady of the Fountain. The Sodalities of the Children of Mary, 
the Holy Angels, and the Holy Infancy, were in full regalia. 
The venerable Archbishop walked unsupported and with uncov- 
ered head immediately after the priest who bore the blessed sacra- 
ment. A carriage was in waiting, but he would not use it. He 
made the entire devotional round, and, in his meek, humble bear- 
ing, reminded every one of his Divine Master, the Eternal Shep- 
herd of souls. On his return to the sanctuary, he was quite over- 
powered, and fell, apparently in a faint. As he was lifted to his 
chair, an attendant handed a glass of water. With a reverential 
inclination toward the Sacred Host, exposed in the niche over the 
high altar, he declined the proffered refreshment. 

During his stay at the castle he edified all who beheld him. 
Later on he visited the pupils in their hall, and was received with 
all possible deference and attention. 

Each pupil in turn was presented to him, and in his address 
he evinced the warmest feeling of interest in each and every one 
of them. On this occasion he gave striking proof of his retentive 
memory, for, in speaking of St. Peter's, at Rome, he asked a Sister 
present to begin Byron's apostrophe to the Grand Basilica, and, 
thus prompted, he recited the whole poem. 



II2 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

April, 1879. 
The Most Rev. Michael Hannan, D. D., of Halifax, paid a fly- 
ing visit to the Mount, and spoke to the assembled pupils. 

May, 1879. 

The Right Rev. Thomas Hendricken, D. D., of Providence, 
Rhode Island, paid a formal visit to the Academy. He was re- 
ceived with music and song, and spoke at some length to the 

pupils. 

February i, 1881. 

The pupils of the Academy had longed to welcome His Grace 
of Petra in their midst, but he tarried long, so long that they had 
recourse to His Eminence, and begged him to come accompanied 
by him. At the last moment, His Eminence was prevented from 
coming, but he sent by His Grace an affectionate blessing and 
kind greeting. The following programme was arranged for the 
occasion : 

Polonaise (eight hands) Schmidt. 

La Buena Ventura (eight hands) Fumagalli. 

Chorus, "Awake your Harps." 

Solos : Misses Smith and K. Vandeveer Verdi. 

[The words were written for the occasion.] 
Address to His Grace : Miss Chatfield, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. 

The Address was as follows : 

" Most Reverend and Beloved Archbishop : With sentiments of deepest 
reverence and heart-felt joy, we extend to you our warmest filial welcome. 

" Often on Commencement-days and other occasions of the kind have we 
hoped and longed to behold you in our midst — hoped, but only to be disap- 
pointed. Our Lord, however, more indulgent, and looking upon us with a kind- 
lier eye, has given you to us, not for a few short hours or days, but, we trust, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. H 3 

for all the remaining years of your earthly though already illustrious career. 
May those years, most reverend father, be many and full ! — many, ay, even to 
the venerable and venerated decades of Pio Nono, and full, full with the pleni- 
tude of sanctity — the granary of your soul each day garnering up still richer 
sheaves, and, in the mysterious archives above, the record of your good deeds 
glowing each moment with a still brighter radiance. 

" Your devotion to the cause of Catholic and true education, your zeal for 
discipline, your disinterestedness and high spirituality, are not unknown to us ; 
and, while congratulating our venerable and ever-beloved Cardinal on the happy 
choice made by infallible Rome, we can not but behold in it a presage of untold 
good, not alone to this immense diocese, already presided over with so much 
benediction by His Eminence, but a presage also of great blessings to ourselves. 
Yes, to this one little nucleus of religion and learning called Mount St. Vincent 
— this one little spot so dear to us all, yet which, compared with the immense 
whole, is but an inconsiderable point. 

" As, however, in the sight of an Omniscient and Omnipotent God, even the 
timid sparrow, the tiny blade of grass, or the almost infinitesimal animalcule 
has its own appointed place and care, as well and as truly as the magnificent 
and stupendous systems whirling through space, so, too, Most Reverend father, do 
we fondly hope to have one little corner in your memory and your heart. We 
believe that this privilege shall be ours ; and in this confidence we bid you, most 
reverently and most affectionately, welcome ! " 

The Archbishop spoke at some length to the pupils, and kindly 
granted them a conge' for the Feast of the Purification. 

April, 1881. 

His Eminence and his secretary, Rev. John M. Farley, spent 
some days here. On the 27th His Eminence visited the Study 
Hall, where he was most gladly welcomed. After some music and 
singing, the following address was made by Miss Evelyn C. Grosz : 

" Most Eminent and Beloved Father : It is now some years since we 
had the honor of addressing your Eminence on any other than a most public 
occasion ; hence it is with singular pleasure, as well as with sentiments of most 



1 1 4 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

reverent and devoted filial affection, that we now greet you in the sacred privacy 
of our Study Hall. 

" Occasionally, it is true, you have stolen away from the noise and turmoil 
of the busy Babel so near us to breathe for a while the calm atmosphere of our 
convent-home, and to taste, amid these shades where lonely Contemplation dwells, 
the serene joys of solitude. At such times we have often watched from afar 
your venerable form, as with grave and thoughtful mien you slowly paced the 
graveled walk around the castle or the fountain's base ; but we dared approach 
no farther. In vain did we sigh for some kind angel or heavenly magnet to 
draw you to our school-room shades. 

" The good angels whom we see and hear never seem to fancy that we have 
any right to the presence or the time of our most eminent and beloved father, 
or that a father, even if he be a Cardinal, might possibly like to look upon and 
listen to his children. Now, however, that we have you with us, we take our 
own sweet revenge and tell our own tale. 

" But in our eagerness we have diverged from the main purpose of our greet- 
ing. Permit us, then, most honored father, to congratulate you on your continued 
good health, a boon scarcely more precious to yourself than to us ; also on the 
prosperous state of this grand archdiocese, in which churches and schools seem 
increasing in almost geometrical progression ; lastly, on your having secured in 
the onerous labors of your grand and 'sacred charge so able a helper as your 
present honored coadjutor. If fame speaks truly, it is a labor of filial love on 
the one side and an outpouring of paternal trust and affection on the other, 
while to the Church a beautiful shadow of the Divine Master and His beloved 
disciple. 

" In conclusion, your Eminence, we beg to be allowed the privilege of assist- 
ing at the implanting of that tender sapling (like ourselves, just budding into life) 
which your honored hands are about to bless and consign to Mother Earth. May 
its roots strike deep, and its branches uprear and blossom and flourish — a not 
unfitting emblem of your own life in our midst ! 

" When in years to come we turn our pilgrim feet to the shrine of our youth, 
we shall not fail to pause and visit with respectful affection 'the Cardinal's tree'; 
and then we shall recall the happiness of to-day, as once again we bid you, most 
reverently and most affectionately, welcome ! " 

In response, His Eminence delighted the pupils for fully twenty 
minutes by one of his happiest addresses, and finished by giving 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 115 

his blessing. Afterward, in rochet and stole, and attended by Rev. 
Fathers Farley and McNamee, he proceeded to the grass-plot 
between the Study Hall and Castle. The pupils, in long, white 
veils, followed, and formed a pleasing group. His Eminence read 
the benediction from the ritual, sprinkled the beautiful scarlet- 
linden sapling with holy water, and then supported it with his 
hand while the men covered the roots. A box, containing a full 
account of the event, with a medal of Leo XIII, etc., had been 
placed by him in the excavation for the tree. The pupils sang the 

Laudate. 

November 9, 1881. 

The Right Rev. Michael J. O'Farrell, D. D., having been con- 
secrated Bishop of Trenton, November 1, 1 88 1 , came on the 9th 
to the Mount. This right reverend prelate is especially dear to 
the pupils, as his visits to their class-rooms during his pastorate 
at St. Peter's were quite frequent,- and always of much profit to 
them. He would listen to their recitations on such occasions, and 
then make a review of entire branches. The Most Rev. Arch- 
bishop had named him on the committee to examine the pupils' 
essays, and he always gave to them the most patient attention. 
Identified with the Mount as he was, and as we trust he will con- 
tinue to be, his coming after his consecration was an event in the 
history of the Academy. 

He replied to the address made to him on behalf of the school 
with much kind feeling and grace. No one ever spoke with more 
force and effect on the subject of education than he had done on 
the occasion of his second visit, in October, 1882. 

The Right Rev. Bishop of Hong-Kong, China, paid a visit 
to the Academy on November 19, 1881, and gave the as- 



116 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

sembled pupils some very graphic ideas of life in the Celestial 
Empire. 

The Bishop possesses a distinguished bearing, and seems to be 
endowed with every possible qualification for missionary work. He 
chanted the Our Father in the Mongolian tongue, and repeated a 
volume of interesting reminiscences. 

The Right Rev. John Tuigg, D. D., visited the Academy on the 
28th of March, 1882, on his return from Rome. 

On what he supposed would prove his death-bed, this prelate 
remembered the pupils to whom he had shown so much friendli- 
ness, and from whom he had received such a warm greeting, and 
founded the Leo XIII gold medal, in perpetuity, for excellence in 
Church history. 

The Hughes Gold and Silver Medals for Best Original 
Essay on Domestic Economy. 

These medals were founded in i860. To make their object 
best understood, we need only quote the words of Archbishop 
Hughes at the distribution of prizes : 

" Though it is of the utmost importance that you have a good education, that 
you be endowed with accomplishments of manner, that you have enlightened minds, 
yet there are other matters with which you should also be acquainted — matters that 
belong to the practical duties of every-day life. If I live another year, I propose 
to arrange with the Sisters for the introduction of a new branch of science. It 
is a new science — do you know what it is ? Well, there is no word in this poor, 
weak English language of ours which expresses it, but in French it is called la 
cuisine. It is the science of housekeeping, and the art really begins with the 
kitchen. Every young lady ought to understand this science, whether she prac- 
tice it or not. If she be obliged by circumstances to use this knowledge, what an 
invaluable blessing it will be to her ; but, if she understand not this very necessary 
science, the cook will have the advantage ; and then, what if a friend call in to 
take pot-luck during the cook's absence ? Or what if it happen some fine day 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



II 7 



that the cook dismiss her ? Now, if such a thing should occur, the lady might be 
left without dinner, and then what a terrible fix she would be in ! I shall, then, 
arrange with the Sisters, so that every young lady, if she choose, shall have the 
privilege next year of spending some time every month in the kitchen to see how 
things are done there. In this way, we shall have theory and practice combined. 
At the end of the year I shall give a gold medal, worth fifty dollars, for the best 
essay, not exceeding seven pages nor less than five pages of foolscap, on the sci- 
ence of which I have been speaking." 

The following year His Grace, on a similar occasion, entered into 
the philosophy of education. He dwelt earnestly and forcibly on 
the great truth that education must begin at home— in the family 
circle — in order to produce its legitimate fruits, observing that no 
mere scholastic education can wholly form the man or the woman 
for society, nor can any system of education counteract the effects 
of home training. Having enlarged in the same forcible manner 
on the all-powerful influence exercised by the weaker sex, " whether 
directly or indirectly," in the affairs of men, His Grace passed on by 
a natural transition to the subject of domestic economy, and its 
paramount importance to the comfort and well-being of families. 
He stated that, deeply impressed with this conviction, and with a 
view to attract attention to the subject at Mount St. Vincent, he 
had last year offered a gold medal to the pupil of the institution 
who should present this year the best original essay on that useful 
science. A committee of gentlemen [one of the first of the com- 
mittee named by His Grace, John Gilmary Shea, LL. D., is still a 
member (1883) J had been appointed to examine the compositions, 
and, of the number submitted, by an unexpected result, " not one, 
but two, had been pronounced the best." Such being the case, it 
had been suggested to him to give two medals, which together 

would be of equal value to the one promised ; but, as there were 

16 



Il8 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

two essays of equal merit, two medals, each one valued at fifty 
dollars, were given. 

The medals are about an inch and a half in diameter. On one 
side is the inscription, " This medal zuas awarded by the committee, 
and presented by His Grace the Most Rev. Arclibishop of New 
York." On the reverse are the words, "Premium for the best 
original essay on domestic economy, submitted by the young ladies 
of Mount St. Vincent Academy, FonthillT 

Two years later, as we have seen, at the last Commencement 
presided over by His Grace Archbishop Hughes, he alluded to the 
medal in these terms : 

" The special' presentation, a gold medal, is the gift of Archdeacon McCarron. 
It is a generous and well-directed gift, and it shall not lapse. I shall leave it 
incumbent on my successor to perpetuate it ; and shall make a will — I have been 
intending to do so for a long time — and, as the lawyers say, I shall will and de- 
vise and bequeath (I believe those are the terms used, whether a man have any- 
thing to leave or not) provision for a gold medal every year for the same purpose." 

The medal has ever since been yearly given by some ecclesi- 
astic of the diocese. It is difficult, indeed, to overrate the benefit 
effected thereby, as the subject is treated by the essayists in its 
widest sense. 

Curran Gold and Silver Medals. 

The Curran gold and silver medals for excellence in mathe- 
matics were founded in 1874 by the late Rev. Michael Curran, 
pastor of St. Andrew's Church, New York, who was a devoted 
friend of the Academy. In awarding them, the percentage mer- 
ited during the year, and the result of two written and searching 
examinations in geometry, algebra, and arithmetic, are all taken 
into account. These medals have always been objects of great 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. H 9 

emulation, and are of beautiful design, representing the Pythago- 
rean Theorem in gold, and purple enamel. 

The Seton Gold and Silver Medals 

for excellence in English literature were founded, in 1876, at the 
suggestion and through the generosity of Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, 
D. D., of New York. One of the objects nearest to the heart of 
this illustrious scholar seemed to be the furtherance of Catholic 
education, and he especially desired that our colleges and acade- 
mies should reach a high standard of excellence. He had already 
donated a yearly medal to a college in Canada, and he next 
turned his attention to the Mount. English literature he deemed 
a study proper to rouse the ambition of young lady students ; and 
he himself named the conditions, requiring, in addition to a high 
record for the year, excellence at three examinations, two semi- 
annual and written, and one oral, toward the close of the scho- 
lastic year. The object proposed by Dr. O'Reilly in founding these 
medals has apparently been obtained, in the increased interest 
evinced in this study throughout the Senior Course. The medals 
are named in honor of Mother Elizabeth Seton, the revered foun- 
dress of the Sisters of Charity in the United States. In diameter 
they are about two inches, and of the following design : A fine 
medallion relievo of Mother Seton, with these words, " Dcfuncta 
adliuc fovet Elisabeth? On the reverse, a stork is incubating, and 
its mate is putting a serpent into its mouth. The stork was con- 
sidered by the ancients the personification of piety, conjugal and 
filial love, gratitude, and temperance. In hieroglyphic language it 
is the symbol of piety and beneficence, and also in Hebrew. The 
words "Altrix Sapientice Pietas" form the inscription. 



120 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The Kelly-Hughes Gold and Silver Medals 

for practical domestic economy were founded, in 1880, by Mr. and 
Mrs. Eugene Kelly, of New York. These medals are intended to 
awaken a strong feeling of competition among all the pupils for 
such womanly accomplishments as good sewing, household thrift, 
and some knowledge of the culinary art. They have accomplished 
their purpose, for good sewing and a proper regard for household 
duties are dignified in the eyes of the pupils, and the best results 
have followed. 

The dies of the medals were made at the United States Mint, 
and are rich and massive. The obverse represents Mater Admira- 
bilis as she appears in oil-fresco in the miraculous painting now in 
la Trinita dei Monti, Rome. We shall give a description : In a 
niche near the great Church of the Monastery is the Most Holy 
Virgin in fresco, full size, and at the age of twelve or thirteen 
years. Around this Fair Flower of the Field and Lily of the 
Valley the air seems full of the sweet perfumes of a holy silence 
and recollection. She is occupied in spinning flax ; near her, on 
the right, is a distaff resting upon a slender shaft, and on the left 
a lily rising out of a crystal vase, and bending its flexible stalk 
toward Mary. As the lily seems to move toward her, she raises 
her eyes to contemplate it more easily, and inhales the heavenly 
perfumes. Absorbed in meditation, the Holy Child has interrupted 
her work ; her shuttle has become motionless, and has dropped from 
her hand, while her left hand still holds a light thread which 
remains joined to the flax in the distaff. The left foot of the holy 
spinner rests upon a stool, near which lies an open book, spread 
out on a work-basket filled with shuttles and skeins. These words, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 121 

in Latin, on the exergue: " Consideravit son /fas downs sues, et 
panan otiosa non comcdit." On the reverse of the medal is a 
fine relievo bust, in vignette, of the late Most Rev. Archbishop 
John Hughes, D. D., and the words: "In mcmoriam ceternam erit 
Justus." " Pracmium Kelly-Hughes? 

Mr. and Mrs. Kelly were unable to be present at the Com- 
mencement in 1883. The sewing of the two graduates to whom 
the medals were awarded was sent to Mrs. Kelly's residence. On 
returning the same, Mrs. Kelly wrote as follows : 

"South Orange Avenue, September 17, 1883. 

" Dear Sister : . . . There was some little delay about my receiving the par- 
cels of sewing ; but I did get them, and I examined the work with great care and 
interest. I find them only too well done j about one half those tiny, dainty stitches 
would have answered just as well. The French say too many stitches 'fatigue' 
the material, and it is true ; but that must come with experience ; and I marvel 
at the patience of those sweet girls, for it must have been tried more than once 
on those wonderful garments. Give them our compliments, and say we think they 
deserved their medals. Next year I hope to be able to go up before the Com- 
mencement-day — as it would be so much more satisfactory to see the girls and 
the work together. I took the parcel back to Miss Stella Byron, who will return 
it, if she has not already done so. Thanking you sincerely for sending it to me, 

" I am, dear Sister , very sincerely yours, 

"M. A. Kelly." 

Tests for the Kelly-Hughes Medals. 

1. The perfect mistress of the art of household management must lay the 
foundation of that art deeper than on mere practical knowledge of the duties it 
involves. 

It must rest on a hearty recognition of the inherent dignity and worthiness of 
the work. No one who feels it to be a servile task, or one beneath her dignity, to 
assume the practical management of her own household, deserves to have a house- 
hold to manage. If it be the aim of her life to sit in idle state, and have others 
do her constant bidding, she gives proof of having failed to acquire a knowledge 



122 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

of the first elements of housekeeping. The model woman must be to-day such as 
Solomon described her three thousand years ago : 

"She hath looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her 
bread idle." 

" Her fingers have taken hold of the spindle ; she hath made for herself 
clothing of tapestry." 

"She hath risen in the night," that her household may be fed in season, and, 
as a consequence of her many virtues, " the heart of her husband trusteth in her," 
and he " sitteth among the senators of the land." 

And long before the time of Solomon, Sarah, a princess, and the wife of 
Abraham, made with her own hands cakes of meal for her husband's guests. And 
Abraham himself, prince and patriarch, went to the herd to select a calf, and, when 
the repast was ready, waited on his visitors. 

And from the time of Abraham down to the present, princesses and noble ladies 
have counted it a duty to minister to the wants of the members of their own house- 
hold, and even, when necessity required, worked with their own hands. 

2. The skilled mistress of a household must not only be willing to assume practi- 
cal control over her miniature kingdom, but she must acquaint herself thoroughly 
with the principles of household government, so that cleanliness, order, good taste 
and a due regard for health may everywhere shine forth. 

3. In order to provide wholesome food and drink for her household, she must 
possess a practical knowledge of the leading principles of cookery. 

4. Solomon's model woman " made herself clothing of tapestry " ; and in like 
manner the model manager of a house, in our own day, must see that the members 
of her household are well clothed, so that " they shall not fear the cold of snow," 
and so that their appearance may bespeak their condition in life. 

Points on which Candidates should be tested. 

1. The candidate for honors in household management should, therefore, in the 
first place, be tested as to her willingness to minister to the happiness of others, 
and she who has proved herself most obliging to her associates, most willing to 
serve them, and least prone to call on others to wait on her, should be marked first 
on the application of this test. 

2. She should be tested in sweeping and dusting rooms, even to their remotest 
corners, as well as in cleaning windows and mirrors. 

3. She should be tested in her habits of order, as shown in the way she keeps 
her ordinary belongings, her books, her clothes, and whatever else comes under her 
personal and individual care. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



I2 3 



4. She must be examined on the method of preparing certain leading articles of 
food — for example : 

a. Bread, biscuit, and certain kinds of cake. 

b. Potatoes, boiled and fried. 

c. Steak or chops, broiled. 

d. Mutton stew. 

e. Roast beef, or chicken. 
/. Baked fish. 

g. Coffee and tea. 

//. Some pudding or sweet dessert. 

5. The candidate who is most successful in the number of efforts should be 
marked accordingly. 

Work should be done with punctuality. The candidate whose work is finished 
nearest the appointed time, is marked accordingly. 

6. Work should be done with economy. The candidate who is guilty of least 
waste in her work, and utilizes best all her materials, should be marked accord- 
ingly. 

7. The abilities of the candidate should be tested — 

a. In making certain garments, including at least a simple dress and one 

set of underclothing. 
/>. In mending and darning. 
c. Washing, taking out stains, etc. 

8. The candidate should be examined in text-books on household economy, 
and in a concise system of general expense accounts. 

9. She shall spend at least part of one day every week in receiving tuition in 
the Model Kitchen.* 

10. Although the pupils of the graduating class are the only ones who compete 
for the prize, yet a general competition shall begin in the lowest class of the course, 
as an exact record will be kept of each pupil's faithfulness in darning her hose, in 
mending such garments as she can, in covering her books, and, in general, of her 
willingness to be taught every womanly qualification. The credits received shall 
be carried forward on her entrance into the graduating class, and, in case of a tie 
among competitors, the decision shall rest, in a measure, on the past record of the 
pupil. 

Mount St. Vincent on the Hudson, New York City, September, 1880. 

* Not yet in operation. 



124 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

The St. Cecilia gold and silver medals for excellence in vocal 
music, founded in 1881, and the St. Cecilia gold and silver medals 
for excellence in instrumental music, founded in 1882, are the gift 
of the Princess di Radzivvill, Paris. These magnificent medals were 
referred to in speaking of the musical department in the descriptive 
sketch of the Academy. 

The Leo XIII Gold and Silver Medals 

for excellence in church history were founded in 1883, by the 
Right Rev. John Tuigg, D. D., Bishop of Pittsburg, Pa. 

The medals bear the arms of Leo XIII and the Latin inscrip- 
tion: "Lumen in Ca'/o." 

Competition for these medals is confined to the undergraduates 
and the pupils of the first special course. 

The Sodality of the Children of Mary. 

By a special brief obtained from Rome by his Eminence the 
Archbishop of New York, March 10, 1867, he was authorized to 
establish the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the institution 
of the Sisters of Charity. We give a facsimile and a translation 
of the brief: 

[Translation.] 
Audience of His Holiness, March 10, 1867. 

" His Holiness Pius IX, at the instance of the undersigned, Secretary of the 
Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, has been pleased to authorize the Most 
Rev. John McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, to establish in the female schools 
under the charge of the Sisters of Charity in his diocese, for the benefit of the chil- 
dren attending such schools, the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, and to annex thereunto all and every one of the indulgences 
granted by the Sovereign Pontiffs to the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary 






TO THE 




OF THE 



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126 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



established in the Roman College for the pupils of the Society of Jesus, anything 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

" Given at Rome, from the office of the S. C, as above. 

[L. S.] (Signed) " H. Capalti, Secretary." 

The Sodality has a valuable manual, which is to the members 
a real fount of devotion. 

The beautiful banner of the Children of Mary, which was 
blessed on May i, 1864, by the Very Rev. William Starrs, V. G., 
was the united gift of the Misses Isabella Driscoll (Madame Alex- 
andre Roux), Louise Gauton (Mrs. Frank Carroll), Mary Agnes 
Gernon (Mrs. Nicholas Hoey), and Clara C. Roux (Madame 
Joanique) * graduates of that year. 

Memorable Dates. 

Solemn blessing of the Shrines of Our Lady of the Fountain and Our Lady 
of Consolation, May 24, 1872. 




FOUNTAIN MATER DIVINE GRATI7E. 
In Memoriam : Ellen C. Kent. 



* Madame Joanique was lost at sea on the Ville du Havre, in 1874. A solemn mass 
of requiem was celebrated at the Mount on her month's mind, October 29, 1874, on which 
occasion many of her school companions were present. 



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128 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Solemn blessing of the Grotto and Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, December 
8, 1874. 

Solemn blessing of the Fountain and Statue of Mater Divinas Gratiae, Septem- 
ber 8, 1873. Rev. Father Musart, after blessing this statue, advised the Sisters 
and pupils, when passing it on the way to the train, to say an Ave Maria, in order 
to obtain Our Lady's special protection. 

Solemn blessing of the Sacred Heart Shrine, August 3, 1876. 

Solemn blessing of the Shrine of St. Vincent de Paul, May 27, 1878. 

In an audience of June 20, 1847, granted by our Holy Father 
Pope Pius IX, special and great privileges were accorded to the 
chapel at Mount St. Vincent, at the instance of the Most Rev. 
Archbishop Hughes. 

No. XV of these indulgences, at this time confirmed in favor of 
"The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul," reads thus: 

" Finally, the communication of all graces, privileges, faculties, and indulgences 
whatsoever, granted by Sovereign Pontiffs to other communities, whether of clois- 
tered or uncloistered females, whether devoted to the education, rearing up of 
youth, or to the relief and service of poor orphans and sick, equally and as if 
they had been granted specially and by name to the Sisters of Charity them- 
selves, and to their community, churches, oratories, chapels, and houses." 

Necrology. 

Among its most honored and revered friends, the Academy 
must class the late Very Rev. Michael McCarron, Archdeacon of 
the diocese. A man of extraordinary learning himself, he burned 
with a desire to have others drink deep of the fount of lore. He 
knew that he was always welcome at the Mount ; even his faint- 
est footstep could not pass unobserved as he sometimes sought to 
steal in during studies, or class. Hours seemed to pass like min- 
utes in the class-room to both teachers and pupils when this great 
lover of learning took the class for a drill. For many years he 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 129 

spent weeks and weeks at the Mount, employed in teaching 
almost all the time. The last visit he made to the Academy, just 
a short time before his lamented death, was in response to a writ- 
ten question on some difficulty in translating a peculiar Latin 
phrase. 

October 2, 1863, on the Feast of the Guardian Angels, the 
Archdeacon said mass at the Mount, and at 10 a. m. went in 
solemn procession to the colossal statue of the Guardian Angel 
and Child, that overlooks and gives name to the avenue. The 
venerable father had composed the Latin inscription on the statue, 
and now, surrounded by the sodalities in full regalia, with their 
banners, he blessed the statue, and, after returning to the chapel, 
gave a beautiful sermon on devotion to the Guardian Angels. 

Even in recreation, his words were full of instruction ; but 
when the hour for religious instricction came, what stores he 
would unlock ! The pupils of those privileged days will never 
forget Father McCarron, and his name deserves to be identified 
with the institution as long as it shall subsist. This good Arch- 
deacon died February 23, 1867. R. I. P. 

Rev. John Breen was for many years chaplain at the Academy. 
He was always regarded and esteemed by all who knew him. 
Reserved, earnest, kind, and fatherly, whenever he passed he ap- 
peared truly the man of God. He continued his duties as con- 
fessor to the pupils long after he became a city pastor. Father 
Breen died in Manhattan ville, in 1874. R. I. P. 

Rev. Louis Pacific Musart, for many years professor in the Grand 
Seminary in Montreal, came to reside in Fonthill Castle in 1864. 
From that time until his death, in 1881, tall, dignified, and clerical in 
appearance, he was identified with the best interests of the institu- 



J 3° 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



tion. His appearance in the sanctuary impressed every one, Catho- 
lics and non-Catholics, and he was much revered and much beloved 
by all the pupils. 

Father Musart was born in Rheims. To his dying day he 




REV. LOUIS P. MUSART. 
Donor: Annie O ' Rourke. 



loved France and her true glory. National events made a great 
impression on him ; his enthusiasm would kindle on recalling the 
coronation of Charles X in the Cathedral of Rheims, which was 
the last that was conducted with all the splendor of mediaeval 
ceremonies. 

After his ordination to the priesthood, Father Musart came to 
Montreal, where he labored many years. Fourteen years after he 
had left Canada, his name was still cherished by bishops, priests, 
and people, as the writer of this can testify. The Most Rev. Ig- 
natius Bourget styled him " a most holy, apostolic man." Bishop 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. I3I 

Pinsinneault, after resigning his see, wished to come and end his 
days with his old friend at the castle, and really did spend a long 
time with him there on a number of occasions. 

Father Musart died December 27, 1881, full of years and 
merits. He is buried, as he desired, in the Sisters' Cemetery, and 
a large marble cross marks his last resting-place. R. I. P. 

PUPILS WHO HAVE DIED IN THE INSTITUTION. 
I 847-I 884. 

Miss Catherine Dugan. How many hearts among the pupils 
of the old Mount will be touched on seeing this name ! Katie 
was a dear, sweet, bright child, full of faith and cheerfulness. She 
had inherited consumption, and, after having won a place in the 
hearts and memories of all who knew her, she began to fade like 
a flower before our eyes. Two days before her death, she sent 
for a packet of pictures. Upon each one she put the name of 
some cherished companion, and wrote with her own hand, " Pray 
for Kitty when she is gone." It was a Sunday; she felt that 
death was very near, and she asked to have the choir come around 
her bed to sing, " Take me, my Jesus, to Heaven." One young 
Sister in the choir had been Katie's schoolmate, and, as she 
sang, the tears coursed down her cheeks. Katie tried to cheer 
the Sister by saying that she longed to die ; and in a few hours 
her soul had winged its flight to heaven. R. I. P. 

Miss Alice Brown died suddenly of heart-disease, in the spring 
of 1853. She had been slightly indisposed, and, in consequence, 
she was advised to remain in the infirmary overnight. Before 
morning prayers, she had asked for a glass of water, and immedi- 
ately fell into her agony, and died as soon as she had received the 



I3 2 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

last rites of the Church. The pupils had just assembled for mass, 
when her death was announced ; sorrow filled all hearts, for she 
was a much-cherished companion. R. I. P. 

Miss Jane Reilly died in her baptismal innocence, in 1855. 
The beautiful burial-service for children was chanted over her little 
body, and all felt that the little angelic child was singing also. 
She was the last flower plucked by Heaven from the garden at 
the old Mount. 

Miss Eliza Mason died May 9, 1865. She was one of two 
sisters. She had been received into the Sodality of the Children 
of Mary on her death-bed, and died most gladly in her Mother's 
beautiful month of May. 

Miss Annie Meehan came to us in a deep decline. Her 
parents were already dead, and she had given her love to the Sis- 
ters, and with them she wished to die. She had just made her 
first communion on her sick-bed, and was praying and longing for 
confirmation, when, on May 18, 1866, the Most Rev. Archbishop 
the present Cardinal came, with the Right Rev. Patrick Lynch, of 
Charleston, Very Rev. William Starrs, and Rev. Francis McNierny, 
to go through the institution. When the prelates reached the 
infirmary, they hastened to converse with " little Annie." Imme- 
diately Annie brightened up, and said to our own Archbishop, " I 
wish to ask you something." The Right Rev. and Reverend gen- 
tlemen passed on. The Archbishop bowed his head to catch her 
words : " Father, will you confirm me before I die ? I wish to 
have the beautiful mark on my soul." " Yes, my child," said the 
amiable Archbishop, with that sweetness all his own, " I will con- 
firm you." And Annie was confirmed, and went to heaven a few 
weeks later (June 6, 1866). A'. /. P. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. ^3 

Mary Emma Dibble died February 18, 1867, aged sixteen years. 
She was baptized by her own request, and with her parents' per- 
mission, the day before she died ; and such an impression did her 
dying sentiments make on her father, that he felt perfectly resigned 
under the heavy blow. 

Miss Elizabeth E. Duffy died October 23, 1872, as the pupils 
were making their retreat. She had left school, but, as all the mem- 
bers of her family were dead, she came back in ill-health, and wished 
to remain. Her monument is our beautiful Free School, where 
every day prayers are offered for the repose of her soul. R. I. P. 
Josephine Bianchi Delmonico, niece of Rev. J. Fransioli, of 
Brooklyn, L. I., died of general decline, April 3, 1870. She was 
one of five sisters at school here. She made her first communion 
before she was too ill to do so, in her beautiful white robe and 
wreath of white flowers, and she was arrayed in death just as she 
had been on that happy occasion. Our Lord in the sacrament of 
His great love had so attracted the heart of the child that she 
went to Him with delight. Her death seemed more like a tri- 
umph than a mournful event. So sweet a smile played on her 
countenance in death, that one of our Sister-artists could not rest 
until she had portrayed her as she lay in its cold embrace. 

Manuela Pesant was the youngest of three little Spanish pupils 
intrusted to our care in 1876. Not quite three years old, Manuela 
had inherited from her departed mother a tendency to decline. A 
wonderfully precocious child, she had established her kingdom in 
all hearts, and nothing was left undone to save her from an early 
grave. But God willed to take this dear child to Himself, and on 
March 20, 1877, Manuela went to heaven, to love God more than 
St. John the Evangelist did on earth. Manuela, pray for those 



134 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

who loved you so — your papa and your new friends at the Mount! 
She is buried in the Sisters' Cemetery. 

Miss Rose Conway, a newly received pupil, died February i, 
1882, after a few days' illness, of spinal meningitis. She was a 
bright, affectionate child, and a niece of two of the Sisters in the 
community. R. I. P. 

Miss Emilita del Solar, from Cuba, entered the Academy in 
October, 1882. She was placed here in hopes that she would grow 
robust, and she seemed to be doing nicely up to February. Like 
a flower, she began to fade — pneumonia prostrated her — and soon 
daily cablegrams were dispatched to her devoted parents. Her 
mother had a little son in her home in Matanzas stricken down 
with the same disease, and had overtaxed herself in caring for him. 
Emilita's illness was kept from her by her husband until she was 
able to make the journey to New York. 

In the mean time, Emilita had received her first communion 
by way of holy viaticum, and her little soul seemed lifted to 
heaven. The Feast of St. Joseph came, and with it the news that 
the Cuban vessel could not get in until the 20th. All felt that 
the child was sinking. Suddenly — ten minutes past 10 p. m. — the 
death-rattle came, and at the same instant a loud ring of the door- 
bell proclaimed the mother's unexpected arrival. In response to 
that ring the angelic child, who had even said that mamma should 
not leave papa and the little ones to come to her, breathed forth her 
last sigh ! Emilita was with God, pleading for her sorrowing ones 
on earth ! She is buried in the Sisters' Cemetery, and her beloved 
parents have placed over her precious remains a beautiful monu- 
ment. R. I. P. 

Emilita was a remarkably self-sacrificing, devoted child. Her 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. I35 

good sense and intelligence had endeared her to her companions, 
and she was mourned affectionately and long. On the arrival of 
her picture, some time after her death, her classmates wished to 
have it in their room as a precious remembrance. 

Our Reverend Chaplains and Chapels. 

When the community purchased the first Mother House in 
1846 (we quote from the written archives), it consisted of but four 
small rooms and an attic story. In one of the small rooms the 
holy sacrifice was for some time offered, until, by the addition of 
a wing on either side of the building, a more commodious apart- 
ment was secured. In this really neat chapel, mass was offered, 
and the different ceremonies of the Church gone through with an 
unction and grace which endeared that sanctuary and humble 
wooden altar to many hearts. Later on, as we have shown, our 
large Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was completed, and 
was the first in the archdiocese dedicated to our Immaculate 
Mother. 

Rev. Dennis Wheeler was the first chaplain and confessor to 
the pupils; he remained from June, 1847, to July, 1848. Rev. Ber- 
nard Farrell from June, 1848, to September, 1849. ^ ev - Patrick 
Waters from August, 1849, till his death, April 28, 1850. He was 
succeeded for a short time by the Rev. Patrick McCarthy. Rev. 
John M. Murphy officiated for a few weeks. A French abbe 1 re- 
mained from October, 1850, to June, 185 1. Rev. Hugh Sweeny 
from June, 1851, to January 28, 1855. Rev. John Breen from 
February to March, 1855. Rev. Edward McGean from November 
1, 1855, to February, 1856. Rev. John Breen again, from February 
8, 1856, to November 11, 1859. R ev - Louis P. Musart from May, 



136 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

1864, to his death, December 27, 1881. Rev. John J. McNamee 
since Passion Week, 1879. 

There were other chaplains to the institution, but they were 
not confessors to its pupils. 

Pupils' Retreats. 

The annual retreat of three days was conducted by a Redemp- 
torist father — Rev. Fr. Robert, C. S. S. R. — up to 1854, inclusive. 
Since then, one of the fathers of the Society of Jesus has given 
the yearly retreat. 

Rev. Hector Glackmeyer, S. J., conducted it for several years, 
and was much revered and beloved by the pupils of the Mount. 
His early death was sincerely regretted. Fathers Isidore d'Aubresse, 
Driscol, P. Gleason, Tissot, Hanrahan, Murphy, H. Denny, Mer- 
rick, Achard, Langcake, et a/., deserve a memento in the prayers of 
the pupils, as so many spiritual benefactors. 

Lectures delivered in the Academv. 

At an early period (1850) the services of Professor J. YV. 
Hyatt, of Columbia College, were secured for weekly lectures in 
botany, chemistry, or philosophy. He continued to lecture as late 
as 1876. 

From 1854 to 1863 the late learned and venerable Levi Silli- 
man Ives, LL D., lectured weekly on English literature. His great 
work, the " Protectory," prevented a continuance of his very excel- 
lent lectures. 

Mr. William H. Goodyear has given incomparable lectures, dur- 
ing three winters, on ancient and modern art. His stereopticon 
illustrations are exceptionally fine. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 137 

1876. — The Cesnola collection, fully illustrated. The lecturer's 
tour beyond the Jordan, fully illustrated. 

1881. — History of Egypt told by her monuments. 

1882. — Ruins of ancient Greece. Ruins of ancient Rome (Pom- 
peian illustrations). Architecture of the old Basilicas. Cathedrals 
of the Romanesque style. Cathedrals of the Gothic style. St. 
Peter's, Rome, and the Renaissance. Modern Architecture. 

1883. — Seven lectures on the religious art in Italy from the 
fourth to the seventeenth century, inclusive. 

From 1877 to the present year Rev. James J. Dougherty, pas- 
tor of St. Monica's Church, New York, has delivered a number 
of valuable lectures. His subjects have been the great Jesuit mis- 
sionaries, Breboeuf, Jogues, and Marquette; the historic Popes; 
the grand epochs of history ; illustrious female characters ; Luther 
and his times, etc. Several of these lectures have been published 
in "The Catholic World." The whole, if printed, would prove a 
valuable acquisition to literature. 

In 1878 Dr. Edmund S. F. Arnold delivered seven admirable 
lectures, on geology and mineralogy, to the higher classes. He 
presented the manuscript of these lectures to the institution, and 
the Messrs. D. Appleton & Co. have them in press at present. 
Dr. O'Leary highly recommends them. 

Since the fall of 1877 Cornelius M. O'Leary, M. D., LL. D., 
has been continuing a series of lectures on English literature. 
These lectures are occasionally varied by the treatment at different 
periods of subjects of special interest. 

January 8, 1879. — On the reassembling of the classes after vaca- 
tion, he delivered the following lecture. It does not excel the 
larger number, but it interested all so much that the Doctor was 



I3 8 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

asked to commit it to writing. Believing it well worthy of a place 
in this volume, his permission has heen obtained for its insertion : 

TRUE AND FALSE CULTURE. 

The word culture is derived from a Latin root, and is used to denote that 
condition of mind which results from a long and careful training. It passes cur- 
rent among a limited class for that intellectual refinement which is not exactly 
learning, but a certain mental aroma, more or less delicate, to which the knowl- 
edge that is derived from books, society, and travel, is the soil that supplies the 
sap. Or it may be described as a flower, whereof the stem is knowledge, the 
perfume goodness, and the color beauty. Persons of culture abhor pedantry, and 
it is only when urgent and suitable occasion offers that the width, depth, and 
variety of their attainments can be understood. For this reason the illiterate are 
much more apt to be impressed by the noisiness of the half-educated than by 
the quiet and unpretending manners of those who have been thoroughly trained. 
The influence which persons of culture exercise is powerful, subtile, and far-reach- 
ing, but calculated to affect only those who, by similarity of education, are in a 
condition of sympathetic receptivity. Culture is a perfume that can not be appre- 
ciated by those accustomed to more pungent and powerful odors. It is like a 
seasoned cask imparting to the wine of knowledge that delicacy of flavor which 
the educated palate alone can detect, a wine that needs no bush to proclaim its 
excellence. It does not do duty on occasion, nor can it be put on and off at 
pleasure, like holiday clothes, since it is inseparable from its fortunate possessor — 
has entered into the fibre of his being, and become part and parcel of himself. 
It is announced in gesture as in word, and seems to follow each movement of the 
body. 

Mere intellectual attainments may accompany a groveling nature, but true 
culture creates for itself an atmosphere where no low or ignoble sentiment or de- 
sire can dwell. It can view with rapture the work of a Raphael or a Domenichino, 
and yet can forego the keenest pleasure for the sake of doing good. It melts 
with pity in contemplating the sufferings of the poor and infirm, and disdains not 
to do work that is repulsive to the senses in order to afford relief to wretched- 
ness. It is eminently unselfish, and dwells on heights towering far above paltry 
ends and purposes. It is many-sided, for it corresponds to every phase and feat- 
ure of our character, and in the light it diffuses over the soul each part shines 
more brightly through the lustre of the other. Thus, intellectual superiority is 
adorned by gentleness, truthfulness, and candor, while these latter qualities nowhere 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



139 



shine more brightly than in the statesman, the philosopher, or the poet. True 
culture is more than good breeding, for, though it supposes the latter, it includes 
reaches of action and aspiration far outlying the easy life of a merely well-bred 
person. It is opposed to dilettanteism, which is selfish, and complains of what- 
ever interferes with its selfish admiration of art. The emotional side of our nature 
is far more varied and complex than we generally suppose, and they are greatly 
mistaken who think that the full width and depth of our emotional capacity have 
been reached by those who cultivate a taste for the beautiful in the domains of 
sculpture, poetry, and painting. The moral aspect of man's nature is not taken 
into account in such a view of culture, and often those, whose .-esthetic sense, in 
the current meaning of the term, has received exquisite polish, are deficient in 
that nobler culture which penetrates the goodness of a hidden act of generosity, 
and finds a relish in its contemplation. A joyous appreciation of a delicate deed 
of goodness argues a more thorough culture than possess those who linger with 
delight over the pages of Ruskin, or who can rise to the realms of light, sweet- 
ness, and grace, with Matthew Arnold. A broad and deep-cast charity lies at the 
bottom of true culture. It loves to see not only the beautiful but the good, and 
would fain fancy the good to exist where its existence is sometimes more than 
doubtful. For this reason it spurns the narrowness of those who complain of 
others because their views and sympathies are not congenial. It seeks rather to 
attract than to repel, and loves the possessor of one shining quality in preference 
to hating him for a host of bad ones. To vulgarity it is eminently opposed, and 
despises from its soul the ways and wiles of vulgar people. Its special aversion 
is not that gross vulgarity which accompanies illiteracy, but the narrow-souled dis- 
position of those who constantly seek out in the armor of their neighbor's name 
some flaw where the envenomed barb of their tongue may enter, who delight in 
the husks of scandal, who misconstrue the fairest acts of virtue, impeach good 
intentions, and visit the most honest motives with the penalty of suspicion. It 
loves to bask in the open and moteless light of a full-orbed sun, undimmed by 
the shadow of suspicion. 

Real culture, therefore, aims at a uniform and harmonious development both of 
the stronger qualities of the soul and those more delicate ones that, with most of 
us, are allowed to lie fallow. And yet these less striking traits of human character 
are oftentimes most important factors in our moral and spiritual make-up. They 
are tendrils, numerous in proportion as they are slender, needing a deft hand to 
train them and guide them, that they themselves may not wither nor choke the 
growth of sturdier branches. After all, it is not the trunk that leafs nor the 
bough that bourgeons, but flower and fruit alike spring from the tiny spray. The 



I4 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

fibres of the heart are delicate in structure, and respond only to delicate touches ; 
whatever is coarse and violent rends them. Hence, the influences that mold 
character — make it soft, rounded, and attractive — are subtile, gentle, and keen. 
Quietude and retirement are the food that cultured natures feed on, and, though 
they can not altogether shun the fierce light of fashionable life, they never yield 
to its excitements. 

There are many persons, no doubt, of exquisite taste and training, who revel 
in the butterfly joys of society-life, and love to sip the honey of its sunshine. 
But, in so far as they take unbounded delight in feathers, fuss, and flowers, 
and the garish rays of the ball-room, they do violence to the better part of 
their nature, and are at variance with the higher aspirations of their souls. 
Dress and diamonds may indeed serve even to reveal the true culture of the 
wearer, if the object of their use be to give material expression to an aesthetic 
sentiment, and not to conquer social distinction nor to feed a small-souled vanity. 
Taste in dress is but the reflection of an artistic mind, and, when made subservient 
to this sentiment, is laudable. But too often the taste lies with the modiste, and 
mere love of display animates the wearer. Richness of texture is sought after 
more than appropriateness of design ; simplicity, the sure earnest of a cultured 
taste, is sacrificed to elaboration of detail, and the guinea-stamp is preferred to 
the gold. What is known in architecture as expression should shine forth in dress, 
and each individual's attire should emphasize the story of character, as told by 
nose, mouth, and eye. If the leading milliners and modistes of Paris were to speak 
the truth, we would be told that it is the great world of nobodies who patronize 
them, and not those who have graced womanhood by their deeds and illumined 
it by their thoughts. The princess and peasant of to-day are most like in this, 
that they both reflect nature in their costume — the one through an exquisite taste, 
the outcome of true culture, the other through the unspoiled simplicity of rustic 
life. Those who give offense in the matter are the noisy, half-way tenants, who 
strive to imitate in tinsel and veneer the simple grandeur of the rez-dc-chausst'e, 
and despise the enforced simplicity of the attic. True culture, therefore, delights 
in seclusiveness as well as in exclusiveness, and prefers the half-light that is sug- 
gestive of mystery. It flees, indeed, from the solitude of the mountains, from the 
heather, the gorse, and the moor, to city homes of art, where the painter's brush 
and the sculptor's chisel vie with the great mother in the perfection of her works. 
But in the city it is as unobtrusive as in the country, and shuns the turmoil of 
city life. Ostentation of what kind soever it instinctively shrinks from, and, as it 
seeks to do good by stealth, so does it feed its art appetite and satisfy its intel- 
lectual longings far from the din of the madding crowd. The modest violet, fit 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



T 4 I 



emblem of true culture, blooms in the shady dell, while the more garish produc- 
tions of nature draw their sap from and flaunt their colors on the sunlit hill-tops 
and the breezy uplands. 

How much more readily do we not associate the thoughts of gentleness, 
refinement, and sensibility with the names of Charles and Mary Lamb as, in 
sweet and affectionate converse, they strolled along the hawthorn-scented lanes 
and green fields of suburban London, than we do with the reckless roysterers 
who gathered round the royal George of that time ! How beautiful and touch- 
ing is the story of that gentle nature which watched with unceasing solicitude 
over a sister who walked day by day in the shadow of a terrible calamity ! How 
pathetic that occasional visit to the asylum when the mysterious cloud of inher- 
ited insanity settled upon Mary's mind, robing it in temporary darkness, and 
leaving the anxious brother a prey to apprehension and disquiet ! Does not the 
picture stand forth in pleasing contrast with the selfish sensuality of the prince 
and the beau,* who both claimed to be the foremost and consequently most cul- 
tured gentlemen of Europe ? 

This reference to Lamb is by no means intended as a vindication of his claims 
to the highest culture, since he was a man afflicted with many of the weaknesses 
of his time, but rather as a partial illustration of the qualities that constitute true 
culture, distinguishing it from the spurious kind, with the noise of which his royal 
contemporary filled the air. 

In order to view the complete embodiment of these rare gifts, and that com- 
bination of mental and moral graces which give us the assurance of true cult- 
ure, we must select our models from among men whose memory those sovereign 
qualities have embalmed. And where are we more apt to find such ideal per- 
sonages than among the saints of the Church, in whom vast erudition is so oft 
united with the rarest humility, in whom a towering intellect dominated a woman's 
heart, in whom gentleness and strength went hand in hand, and in whom a keen 
sense of the beautiful was closely interwoven with a fervent love of the good ? 
Among them we shall find men and women in whom true culture has sought 
and found its highest expression and most congenial home : for have they not 
loved the light and abhorred the darkness ? Are not their garments perfumed 
with the scent of the violets ? Have they not moved through life in an atmos- 
phere of delightful fragrance ? Has not the purity of the lily shone in their hearts ? 
Were not their minds the abodes of truth, and did not their souls respond to 
every beautiful and lofty sentiment that ever inspired the poet's pen or the painter's 

* Beau Brummel. 
'9 



I4 2 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

brush, or thrilled to the core the heart of a great composer ? And, if we would 
make a study of one in whom the best qualities of heart and mind shine forth most 
brightly, let us select, by all means, a saint enjoying a peculiar spirit of his own, 
a spirit that jealously guards his individuality, bathing it in a light that differs from 
all other lights, and scenting it with a perfume all sweet with a sweetness of its 
own. The spirit it is that quickens, and without it inanimate forms flit before us, 
possessed only of the semblance of life. The canvass reflects the spirit of the 
artist, if true artist he be, and beneath serried groups of figures and close blent 
colors, a subtile power is discerned that draws us into closer communion with the 
painter, and shows us as well the throbbings of his brain as the deft movements 
of his hand. 

And so it is with the great saints of the Church. Each one had a spirit 
of his own, that continues to throw his inward life into relief, and still lives in 
the memory of his deeds. Their lives are not the mere arid recital of virtues 
practiced and austerities endured, but spirited epics rife with action and instinct 
with movement, pictures whose colors burn into the soul. For this reason it is 
easier to trace the secret course of their hidden lives, to discern the subtile springs 
of their daily actions, and the motive of their conduct, and to know them as they 
lived, moved, and had their being upon earth. Their knowledge, their personal 
sanctity, their intimate relations with the good, the beautiful, and the true, in a 
word, their noble and perfect culture, thus spring vividly into view. 

What model of a perfectly cultured gentleman surpasses that set before our 
eyes by St. Francis of Sales ! His whole life was the epitome of a broad and 
generous culture, if by culture we understand "the pursuit of perfection in all 
things." * Thoroughly unselfish, and of a naturally noble disposition, he directed 
all the efforts of his will to making others happy, no matter at what cost to him- 
self. This was the secret of his power, and the source of his spirit. Versed in 
all the accomplishments of his day, and acquainted with the lore which made 
contemporary scholars famous, his sole ambition was to render his accomplish- 
ments and his knowledge both contributive to the higher and more enduring 
happiness of his fellow-men. To this end he labored in season and out of 
season, nor let an opportunity go by which might be made productive of good 
to others. With winsome ways of speech and manner, he gained the good-will 
of the illiterate peasant, lost in wonder that gifts so rare and graces so charm- 
ing could reside in one who took an interest in the lowly and obscure. To 
speak of humility as an essential element of true culture may appear strange at a 

* Matthew Arnold. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



1 43 



moment when every gift of high or low degree is seeking to advertise itself, and is 
clamoring for recognition. Yet the intelligent judge will readily concede that the 
down-bending of great souls to the level of the poor and petty is a grander proof 
of cultured goodness than the production of peerless song or speech. 

The will and ability to leave the higher plane of one's own tastes and sympa- 
thies, and in downright earnest to identify one's self with the hopes and aspirations 
of those beneath, to enter with zest into their short-sighted schemes of happiness, 
to cheer and encourage them, to shed the color of one's soul upon them, to warm 
them with its rays, and all that for the sake of lifting them out of the slough in 
which they were plunged, argue a higher, holier, and nobler culture than porch or 
grove e'er dreamed of. And this was precisely what St. Francis of Sales did. 
P'astidious of taste by nature and education, and trained to the supercilious ways 
of a pleasure-loving aristocracy, he cast aside the spirit of his surroundings, and 
created an atmosphere for himself — an atmosphere of love, humility, and sweetness, 
which knew no good but the doing of good, kindly, graciously, and winningly. 
The tocsin of worldly renown was an alarum-bell in his ears, whose din brought him 
discomfort and dread. To deal out the delight of pleasant deeds and hopeful 
words, to diffuse the warmth and gladness of his own heart everywhere and among 
all, to lift men's thoughts to higher ends and aims, and to make them purer, holier, 
and more enlightened, afforded him a keener pleasure than any philosophy save his 
own and his Master's dreamed of. While he could entertain scholars with subtile 
discussions concerning the great problems of religion and philosophy, and could dis- 
course with learning and eloquence on the social and political questions of the hour, 
he could also, with equal ease and with greater delight, talk with the poor and illiter- 
ate about their wants and hopes and ailments. The spirit which enabled him to do 
this is the spirit of true culture, the spirit which carries mortals from the valley of 
small desires, petty aims, and purblind hopes, up to the higher and healthier regions 
of true light, sweetness, and grace. It is a broad spirit, uncircumscribed by the 
passions that darken the souls of men, and stretching away to the shores of the 
infinite. Steeped in this spirit, man's nature takes on characters which beautify 
and transfigure it, and which enable it to reach upward to heights, ordinarily 
inaccessible, whence may be viewed all the glory and grandeur with which God 
has permitted human life to be invested. Such a culture may be said to possess 
negative as well as positive aspects. It not only finds joy in diffusing light and 
showering gifts, but, with most touchy scrupulousness, refrains from casting on 
one human heart the slightest shadow of unnecessary pain. It leaves the smooth 
and beaten path that others may tread it, and willingly takes to the thorn-sown 
track itself. This negative side of culture was a fixed and constant quantity in 



144 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



the constitution of St. Francis of Sales. The thought of hurting the feelings of 
any one of high or low degree was to him fraught with the keenest pain. And 
yet he hesitated not to endure that pain in its most poignant shape when the 
causing of it to others became a duty. And herein true culture differs most 
materially from that counterfeit presentment which so often passes current for 
the original. The culture which so many admire and accept is too sybaritic to 
admit pain as a necessary element of life. It strives to ignore it as much as pos- 
sible ; it refuses to recognize in it a disciplinary and purifying power ; and hence, 
while it seeks itself to shun it, it considers it not within the scope of any known 
duty to inflict it upon others. To " be cruel in order to be kind " is not a tenet 
of modern culture. Pleasure, which it confounds with happiness, is too openly, 
almost confessedly, the sole aim of its aspirations, and why allow pain, the very 
antipode of pleasure, any room in its estimate of conditions ? The matter was 
altogether different with the saints, to whom pain was dearer than pleasure, since 
the One who has held up to our gaze the highest conceivable standard of culture 
courted the keenest pain that the human frame could endure. Hence, true cult- 
ure hesitates not, no matter at what cost to itself, no matter with what endurance 
of anguish, to inflict pain on others that good may accrue to them, and is willing 
to receive as its reward that thrice-bolted purity of character which flows from 
the crucible of affliction. 

By this it is not meant that culture is ascetic and austere. The keenest 
earthly pleasure which man can experience is that which is derived from the con- 
templation and thorough appreciation of works of art, and men of culture surren- 
der themselves with delight to the full-flowing current of this pleasure, and glory 
in it. To them a perfect work of art is the reflection of divine truth ; it is the 
type of that uncreated beauty in which we all hope to find joy when the petty 
concerns of life have passed away. No pleasure arising simply from an impres- 
sion made upon the senses can compare with the thrill which the cultivated mind 
experiences in studying the masterpieces of the great artists of Italy, France, and 
Flanders. Such pleasure differs from those excitements of the senses to which we 
generally attach the notion, in that it elevates the mind and frees it more and 
more from the grossness of the earth, to which we are riveted by the activity of 
the senses. To this pleasure, the appropriate reward of that painstaking which 
leads to culture, Nature cordially invites all, for it stirs the nobler instincts within 
us, and gives spur to our higher impulses. Sensibility is the root of our legitimate 
pleasures, as it is the more fruitful well-spring of our sorrows ; and, whatever nur- 
tures it, prepares us for the enjoyment of keen and purified pleasures, which, how- 
ever, are but as a tithe of the suffering for which it also eminently fits us. A 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 145 

capacity to suffer, therefore, is the necessary adjunct and outcome of culture, and 
those whose conception of the matters is hedged around with all manner of hyp- 
notics, keeping careful watch and ward against the least semblance of pain, expect 
roses to grow without thorns and snow-flakes to fall that don't chill. Indeed, an 
exceeding susceptibility to pain is the penalty that all cultured natures pay for 
the privilege they enjoy, and of such rough-grained sort is the experience which 
this world supplies in abundance that we would thus willingly plead for a friend 
when the last scene of all was about to end his strange, eventful history : 

" Oh, let him pass ! he hates him 
That would upon the rack of this rough world 
Stretch him out longer." 

But sensibility is not akin to sentimentality, for the one is a faculty which can 
receive exquisite training, and places us in close relation with the most delicate 
and subtile influences that determine character, whereas the other is a morbid 
growth, the common product of a false and hot-house literature. Sensibility and 
sense often go hand in hand, while we generally associate the notion of silliness 
with sentimentality. A striking instance of the intimate union which may exist 
between a sensibility as keen as polished steel is to the breath and an inexhaust- 
ible fund of vigorous, commanding common-sense is supplied to us in the history 
of that wonderful woman, St. Catherine of Sienna. So quick was she to perceive 
the nature of those influences that worked for her sanctification that she could 
separate the common occurrences of the day, between which the ordinary observer 
could discern no marked difference, into those that were calculated to promote her 
spiritual good and those that might retard it. No stronger proof of an acute sen- 
sibility could be furnished; and yet this was a woman who could give helpful 
advice to princes and to prelates — one who disentangled the wearily woven web of 
falsehoods and intrigues that had kept the Popes out of Rome for so long a period 
of time. With clear and incisive judgment she pointed out the errors that had 
been committed by the counselors of the Papacy, and awed the enemies of the 
Church by her vigorous denunciations and her well-grounded prediction of the 
evils that would overtake them did they not desist from their unchristian policy. 
In this saintly woman were combined all the qualities that an accurate and exact- 
ing judge might consider constitutive of genuine culture, and that, too, at a period 
in the history of Europe when public manners were marked by coarseness, and 
learning was held at a discount. She was patient under difficulties ; serene amid 
turmoil ; always unselfish to an heroic degree ; full of a tender regard for the feel- 
ings of others ; generous in her judgments ; never suspicious without good reason, 



146 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



and then with a reluctance she never failed to express ; vigorous in her opposition 
to wrong-doing ; quick to discern motives, good or bad ; and, above all, deeply in 
love with light and goodness, as she hated darkness and sin. Nor let it be sup- 
posed for a moment that she lacked sound learning because others of her time 
whose names have come down to us were deficient in that knowledge we so highly 
prize to-day. Her writings have caught and crystallized the spirit of her times, 
and admirably reflect her own character. The style of her letters never fails to 
charm, since it is as clear and pure as the God-lit chambers of her heart. Maffei, 
in his history of Italian literature, says, " St. Catherine was, in the opinion of an 
illustrious writer, no less polished in her writings than she was spotless in her life." 
"To rise from the study of her life and works," says a modern writer, "is like 
being drawn away from a vision of strange and unearthly beauty. You think you 
have seen an angel rather than a woman — a heavenly messenger flying hither and 
thither with her message. She is at Florence, Pisa, Avignon, Lucca, Rome, back- 
ward and forward, always bearing a commission in reference to the work of God — 
always engaged in the management of the most arduous affairs, and which none 
but practiced politicians and diplomatists could have approached." She dearly 
loved the beautiful, as she loved the good, and never ceased thanking God, who 
had with so lavish a hand distributed fair and beautiful things throughout the 
universe. A perfect landscape, a bit of blue water seen through the foliage in 
which her cottage home was buried, the peerless blue of her Italian sky — all, in a 
word, that was beautiful in her surroundings, filled her soul with ecstasy, and ap- 
pealed with tenfold effect to her thoughtful and sensitive nature In singling out 
St. Catherine of Sienna from the list of the saints, and holding her up to your 
contemplation as the model of a truly cultured woman, I but lighted on her at 
hap-hazard. Such instances of culture abound among them, and my object has 
been to call your attention away from the too often iterated claims of certain mod- 
ern apostles of culture, who imagine they possess a monopoly of the article, to 
those children of the Church to whom culture came without flourish of trumpets, 
and who fulfilled in their lives all its conditions unconsciously and yet more strin- 
gently than Otsego Lake or Concord doctrinaires could exact. The standard of 
true culture is not Procrustean, but adapts itself to the requirements of individual 
natures, and, though the fundamental principles may be discussed as applicable to 
all cases alike, details are the growth of each one's bent and disposition. This 
fact is especially perceptible among the saints, who are as a garden of beautiful 
flowers of varied and brilliant colors, each one exhaling a perfume of its own. 
If it is not the sweetness of a De Sales or the tact and sensibility of a Catherine 
we are forced to admire, it is the consuming love of a Vincent de Paul or the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



H7 



dazzling purity of a Gonzaga. The question here arises, What influence so power- 
ful and penetrating was it that could lift the souls of the saints so far above the 
plane of ordinary humanity, and endow them with those qualities which constitute 
the best and truest culture ? The answer is, Religion — that religion whose chief 
attributes were summed up in the Sermon on the Mount. Meekness and magna- 
nimity, love and courage, patience and heroism, were there inculcated, and, given 
these, what could stand in the way of developing true culture in the soul ? Given 
these as the seeds, how quickly will not the soul, refreshed and invigorated by the 
study of art, letters, and philosophy, bloom into an abode of every gentle and 
noble emotion, and the mind be converted into a gallery of light, hung round with 
the rarest pictures ! Religion changes natural asperity of manner into angelic 
sweetness, moroseness into amiability, suspicion into confidence, dejection into the 
very rainbow of hope, envy into solicitude, and black-browed h;*te into the radi- 
ance of a heaven-born love. And yet some have not hesitated to attack that sub- 
limest utterance that ever reached human ears, because a reward has been prom- 
ised the fulfillment of each precept. Such an incentive to duty they hold to be 
low and mercenary, and that virtue should be practiced for its own sake. Miser- 
able revival of that Stoicism which Zeno built up into a scheme of impracticable 
morality, and justified Cato in putting an end to his own days. " Blessed are the 
clean of heart, because they shall see God," says the Divine Saviour. " Blessed 
are the clean of heart, because it is good to be so, and no reward wanted," says 
the apostle of " Ethical Culture." The reward Christ promises is the realization 
of man's hopes, his elevation to the highest pinnacle humanity can reach — the 
vision of the Godhead face to face. The modern Stoic tells us to be good, and 
to be satisfied with being so. Arid and cramping doctrine, that stifles the cry of 
the soul, and strangles our hopes of the future ! Foe to true culture and the en- 
lightenment of men's souls ! 

If ever it had been vouchsafed to man, seated in the darkness of paganism, to 
pierce with seer's eye the clouds that enveloped him, surely that man was Plato — 
Plato, who caught up the notion of a single God from the unceasing refrain of the 
ocean's monotone, and saw darkly into that mystery of mysteries, a triune Being. 
And yet how immeasurably below the conception of true culture Plato's philoso- 
phy fell ! He aimed a blow at the possibility of civilization when he proposed 
to sunder the ties that make the family a unit, and to surrender the care of chil- 
dren to the state. Worse than this, his notion of a republic abounds in plans and 
suggestions that are at direct variance with the universally recognized principles of 
morality. His notion of culture was truncated and imperfect, exhibiting a mere 
shell that is pleasant to the eye, but filled with rottenness within. He had in- 



148 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

tuitions of the beautiful as ravishing as any that ever fell within the unaided 
human ken ; but, alas ! his notions of the good were false, fleeting, and distorted. 
And why ? Because Divine revelation alone can bring the true good within the 
reach of our vision, and Divine grace alone enables man to reduce his conception 
of it to practice. It is through both these agencies that man's nature can take 
on the full-orbed characters of smoothness, sweetness, and light, which we behold 
shining forth in the lives of Christian saints. And if Plato failed to erect a stand- 
ard of true culture, how can we expect the other philosophers of Greece and 
Rome, whose natures were cast in coarser molds, to improve on his lofty ideals ? 
The Athenian philosophers united refinement of speculation with grossness of liv- 
ing, while those of Rome combined unbending sternness of character with cruelty 
and all those qualities of the soul that are most unlovely and unlovable. Seneca 
was the friend and tutor of Nero, and we may infer the character of his personal 
influence from the life and actions of his pupil. And yet Seneca has penned some 
of the loftiest sentiments that breathe through the pages of pagan philosophy, the 
noblest to be found outside of the Christian schools. The poets of Rome, indeed, 
have come nearer than her philosophers toward expounding the most correct views 
upon culture ; and yet they are but the apostles of melancholy, despair, and sen- 
suality. There is no sentiment that appeals so strongly to the cultured heart as 
friendship, and certainly no poet has sung its praises or celebrated its beauties 
with more rapturous and more exquisite eloquence than Horace. To him, friend- 
ship was the embodiment of every good in life, and he loved his friends with a 
tenfold greater love than he ever hated an enemy ; and yet the very page of his 
that sparkles most brightly with eloquent tributes to this lovely sentiment is soiled 
with the grossest sensuality. The friends he had, "and their adoption tried, he 
grappled to his soul with hooks of steel." His friendship for Virgil, whom he 
fondly calls the half of his soul, is most touching and admirable. He longs to 
hide him in the folds of his heart, and to wear him in his heart's core. Still, Horace 
was the poet of the most pleasure-loving circle of his day, and hence was a deadly 
foe to true culture. Virgil, the soft-voiced bard of Mantua, sweet and majestic 
as is his line, wrote for the past rather than for the future. Endowed with every 
quality of heart and soul that might have made him a saint, yet, because he sat 
in the shadow of a hideous polytheism, he fell a prey to melancholy, and wrote 
the very psean of despair. Hope as well as charity failed both the philosophy and 
the poetry of paganism. And the same may be said of modern theories of culture 
which ignore the vital truths of Christianity. They both labor under similar deadly 
defects : they dimly and distantly groped for the truth, and set up false standards 
of the'beautiful and the good. The materialism, doubt, and indifference of to-day 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



1 49 



are as much the enemy of true culture as were the gross systems of philosophy in 
the past. Whether it be Athens or Paris, Rome or London, Alexandria or Boston, 
Nineveh or New York, that has departed from the true rule and measure of reason, 
the result can not but be the same. As one can not gather grapes from the wild- 
bush nor roses from the thistle, so can he not find true culture beyond the pale 
of truth, the parent-stem of the beautiful and the good. 

December 20, 1883. — A Delightful Day at Mount St. 

Vincent. 

Thursday, December 20th, was a red-letter day in the annals of 
Mount St. Vincent, as it was the occasion of a most pleasant 
reception tendered to Mgr. Capel by the pupils of the Academy. 
The country round about was mantled in unspotted white ; naught 
indeed but the same seasonable color met the eye in every direc- 
tion, save where leafless limbs stretched their gaunt shapes against 
a leaden sky, or where the grim Palisades frowned on the dark 
and wintry flow of the Hudson. Mgr. Capel arrived just at noon, 
accompanied by Mgr. Preston, Rev. James J. Dougherty, Rev. Will- 
iam Dunphy, and Dr. C. M. O'Leary, of Manhattan College. These 
gentlemen were afterward joined by the Rev. Fathers Daubresse, 
S.J., Campbell, S.J., and the resident chaplain, Rev. J. J. McNamee. 
The beautiful convent-chapel was first visited by the distinguished 
prelate, who, after a few moments of prayer, glanced with admira- 
tion at altar and chancel and lofty, fretted vault, and, as his taste 
in matters of ecclesiastical structure and decoration is known to 
be severely artistic, his expression of profound satisfaction with all 
he beheld can not but be regarded as a substantial tribute to the 
good taste and correct judgment of those who designed and deco- 
rated this beautiful sanctuary. Dinner was afterward served, and 
was enjoyed by those who had the good fortune to be present, as 



I5 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

much bv reason of the sparkling conversation and bon-mots of 
Mgr. Capel as on account of the savory dishes which the hospital- 
ity of the good Sisters had provided. An excellent painting of 
the Holy Family, directly in front of which Mgr. Capel was 
seated, at once caught his eye, and, after commenting on its art 
merits, he remarked that in the course of his travels through the 
country he had observed, scattered here and there, an astonishing 
number of really meritorious works of art, the educating effect of 
which was lost by reason of their dispersion. After many pleasant 
interchanges of views on the topics of the hour between Mgrs. 
Capel and Preston and the venerable Father Daubresse, the visit- 
ors repaired to the large Study Hall, where the young ladies were 
assembled to welcome the distinguished representative of Catholic- 
ity in England. A beautiful -chorus of trained voices, under Mr. E. 
Agramonte, sang the welcome. An appropriate and exceedingly 
well-composed address was read by Miss Maiy E. Sherril, whose 
liquid tones, exquisitely modulated, rippled through the air like 
wavelets of silver. Mgr. Capel was visibly affected by the cordial- 
ity of the language in which he was welcomed. After the address, 
an elaborate march from the opera of " TAfricaine " was spiritedly 
rendered on the piano by four young ladies, under the direction of 
Mr. Pecher, to which Monsignor listened with rapt attention. Mgr. 
Preston then introduced his illustrious brother-prelate in a few 
well-chosen words. Mgr. Capel, after bowing his thanks to Mgr. 
Preston, first remarked that he took exception to the epithet 
"controversialist" which had been applied to him in the address of 
welcome. He said he had never sought to enter into a discussion 
in the whole course of his life, and never knew of any good 
accruing from controversy. His work had always been confined 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. ! 5I 

to the exposition of the truth to those who were in quest of it, 
and he considered that life was not quite long enough for so use- 
ful an occupation that a portion of it should be squandered upon 
those whose sole aim was to attack and belittle the truth. He 
said, moreover, that a mistake had been made in assigning to him 
the credit of having converted souls to Christ. He insisted that 
it was the prayers, the virtues, and exemplary conduct of the poor 
Irish servant-girls which had done the real work of conversion, 
and that his agency in the matter was confined to pouring the 
water of regeneration on the heads of those who had already 
found the truth through the more efficacious instrumentality of his 
humble coadjutors. He reminded the two or three hundred young 
ladies, whose presence so charmed him, that each one of them 
could save not only her own soul, but other souls, and that 
this was to be accomplished by the edifying tenor of their lives. 
He believed that to live the religion one professed tended more 
effectively to its propagation than preaching it. " Young ladies," 
said he, " you are, by virtue of the education you shall have re- 
ceived within these walls, destined to move in the social circles of 
the world wherein you never need proclaim yourselves Catholics 
by word of mouth, for, if you are true to the teachings of your 
convent-school, your conduct will proclaim that fact far more elo- 
quently, and will compel people to inquire into that religion which 
can furnish forth such perfect patterns of living." After many 
more words of serious and salutary advice, interspersed with occa- 
sional badinage, Mgr. Capel bestowed on all present the twelfth of 
the twenty Papal Benedictions which he had been empowered to 
extend. He begged the young ladies to cultivate and cherish a 
special affection and veneration for the person of the Holy Father, 



I5 2 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

and to glory in being called Papists. On descending from the 
platform, he graciously beckoned the young ladies to approach him, 
and he was soon the center of a noisily chattering bevy of bright- 
eyed and ruddy-faced American girls, with whom he interchanged 
sallies of fun, and whose characteristic national independence seemed 
much to interest him. Mgr. Capel will bear away with him from 
our shores the memory of his visit to Mount St. Vincent as among 
not the least agreeable of his experiences in America. — C. M. O. L. 

January 12, 1884. — Golden Jubilee of His Eminence, Cardi- 
nal John McCloskey. 

At the outset with our work, in July, 1883, its manuscript was 
taken to his Eminence, that his blessing might rest upon it. Most 
cheerfully did he accord that blessing, thus forming a new tie 
with the Academy. Another tender, lasting link of interest has 
been formed by his great condescension in allowing Robert Gush- 
ing, Esq., to have as many sittings as he required to perfect the 
beautiful white- marble bust that now graces the grand entrance- 
hall at Mount St. Vincent. This bust is pronounced by all to be 
a chef tfceuvre. We give an illustration which gives some idea of 
this wonderful work of art. 

We close the record of events in our volume by the insertion 
of some lines written expressly for the Jubilee of his Eminence: 

A Jubilee! and why? Because thou'rt great? 
Or hast her gifts whose chariot but a wheel ? 
His secrets, whose untarrying wings reveal 
Man's microcosmic nature ? Nay ! for State, 
Fortune, and Time know tears. A golden date, 
Because thy fifty years have, one by one, 
Passed to creation's High Priest, Christ the Son, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 1 53 

And at His throne with golden records wait 
To plead for thee. There Michael holds aloft 
A laurel ; and celestial gates ajar, 
Illume thine eyes turned trustingly above, 
While in thy soul angelic whispers soft 
Call, "Come to us, the barriers we unbar!" 
Thou listening in patience, peace, and love. 

Conclusion. 
This work was commenced at the suggestion of an old friend 
of the institution. The labor has truly been one of love, and it is 
hoped that it will result in binding still closer the hearts of its 
alumnae to their Alma Mater. Particularly gratifying is it to note 
that not more than twenty-four of the graduates are deceased ; 




LIBRARY. 
Donor : Sarah E. Dougherty. 



over two hundred still live, the glory and crown of the institution. 
We have taken great pleasure in adding, after our historical sketch, 
the names of those thus closely identified with the institution. 




NEW YORK. — BUST OF HIS EMINENCE, CARDINAL JOHN M CLOSKEY, DESIGNED FOR MOUNT ST. 

VINCENT ACADEMY, BY ROBERT CUSHING, ESQ. 

Donor o/ Cut : Airs, frank Leslie. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



155 



The illustrations in this volume are the gifts of former and 
present pupils, or of special friends ; they have, of course, proved 
a very expensive part of the work. The project was merely made 
known, and was so favorably met, that no effort beyond the men- 
tion of our purpose was necessary to secure all the cuts. 

Any profit that may accrue from the sale of this expensive 
work will be devoted principally to the fitting up of a new library. 
We need not add that such a room would prove an inestimable 




SCIENXF. ROOM. 
Donor : Sarah E. Dougherty. 



blessing to the pupils. Quoting Mgr. Capel's words to the pupils 
on the occasion of his late visit* (December 20, 1883), we feel we 
need no higher authority. " My dear children," said he, " read, read. 
I believe there lies no greater safeguard, after your convent educa- 



* Monsignori Preston (a) and Capel came up and spent a few hours. After a selection 
of instrumental music and chorus, and an address to both prelates, the distinguished for- 
eigner was introduced by Mgr. Preston. Mgr. Capel spoke for some time, and gave a speci- 



I5 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

tion, between you and the world outside, than the love of read- 
ing." 

Another desideratum, next to the library in importance, is a 
fine laboratory, first, for storing our exceptionally fine apparatus for 
the illustration of physics, astronomy, and chemistry ; and, secondly, 
for a lecture-room, which could be used without any special prepa- 
ration. 

In conclusion, we would thank all those who have aided us in 
this work. We have drawn largely on the columns of " The Met- 
ropolitan Record," " The New York Tablet," and " The Catholic 
Review," for reports of Commencements, etc. Rev. Henry A. 
Brann, D. D., and C. M. O'Leary, LL. D., have kindly read the 
proofs. To both these distinguished scholars we are deeply indebted 
for this and many other courtesies. 

Graduates of the Academy Mount St. Vincent, 1847-1883, 

inclusive. 

Anderson, Helen M Port Ewen, N. Y. 

Baxter, Julia Jacksonville, Fla. 

Burtsell, Mary (deceased) New York. 

Boyd, Catherine K New Orleans, La. 

Boylan, Catherine P. (deceased) New York. 

Boyle, Anna L 

Boyle, Mary A 

Brady, Margaret T Brooklyn. 

Bryan, Anna 

men of almost every style — the humorous, facetious, exhortative, and pathetic. His audience 
was held captive, and every word was noted. 

(a) The Right Rev. William Quinn, V. G., and Right Rev. Thomas Preston. V. G., were 
made domestic prelates to the Holy Father in 1881. Congratulations were publicly offered 
them by the indulgence of His Eminence on the Commencement-day of that year. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. t cy 

Bryan, Mary (deceased) Brooklyn. 

Bryan, Isabelle " 

Brennan, Emma " 

Brennan, Annie New York. 

Brown, Rosina " " 

Bruguiere, Louise A " " 

Beecham, Catherine C. (deceased) Rome N. Y. 

Beecham, Ellen A. (deceased) " " 

Beecham, Gretta (deceased) " " 

Burke, Matilda New York. 

Burke, Mary Westchester, N. Y. 

Bussing, Amanda " 

Butler, Mary P. (Sister of Charity) New York. 

Byrne, Mary Anastasia " " 

Carey, Mary R Harlem, N. Y. 

Carpenter, Norma Norristown, Pa. 

Carter, Lillian T New York. 

Cawley, Margaret Trenton, N. J. 

Casey, Cecilia S. (deceased) New York. 

Casey, Cath. F. V. (Sister of Charity) " " 

Cassidy, Sarah " " 

Cassidy, Julia " " 

Cassidy, Louise T " " 

Conway, Susan (Sister of Charity) " " 

Chatfield, Olive Elizabeth, N. J. 

Clifford, Margery E New York. 

Christal, Mary Ann " " 

Christal, Catherine " " 

Christal, Jane " " 

Clark, Rose " " 

Coffay, Mary F Suffern, N. Y. 

Connolly, Caroline C New York. 

Corkey, Mary S Westchester, N. Y. 

Conigan, Theresa Jersey City, N. J. 

Costello, Mary Manlius, N. Y. 

Cotter, Nora New York. 

Cowen, Cecilia A " " 



158 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Coyne, Theresa M Flushing, L. I. 

Crimmins, Anna L New York. 

Culver, Henrietta D San Francisco, Cal. 

Darragh, Mary E India. 

Davis, Helen M Philadelphia, Pa. 

De Rivera, Anita (deceased) New York. 

Devlin, Mary " 

Dodge, Mary E Perrysburg, O. 

Dollard, Eliza Long Island. 

Donnelly, Frances New York. 

Dolan, Mary A " 

Donohue, Lucy A " " 

Donahue, Anastasia F " 

Donovan, Mary Ann Kingston, N. Y. 

Dougherty, Sarah Agnes Brooklyn. 

Doughty, Mary R New York. 

Driscoll, Isabella " 

Dunphy, Julia M. (Sister of Charity) Newburg. 

Dunphy, Anna H 

Ehlers, Johanna C Hoboken, N. J. 

Farrell, Mary Ann Fayetteville, N. Y. 

Fay, Margaret New York. 

Ferman, Catherine " 

Feury, Maria L " 

Fitzgerald, Mary E " 

Fitzpatrick, Mary J Jersey City. 

Fitzpatrick, Mary E. (deceased) Washington, D. C. 

Fitzpatrick, Cecilia (Sister of Charity) 

Fuller, Clara R New Jersey. 

Garrett, Laura (Religious of the Sacred Heart) New York. 

Gauton, Louise " 

Gaynor, Mary R Fayetteville. 

Gerety, Elizabeth Harlem, N. Y. 

Gernon, Mary A New Orleans. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. Ten 

Gilligan, Mary F Long Island. 

Gleason, Margaret C New York. 

Gomm, G. Ida Savannah. 

Goodwin, Alicia New York. 

Gormley, Anna M Westchester. 

Grant, Anna T New York. 

Grant, Catherine E. (Sister of Charity) " " 

Grosz, Eveline A " " 

Grosz, Henriette C " " 

Hayes, Myra A. C " " 

Hagan, Frederica B New Orleans. 

Hawxhurst, Leonie East Chester, N. Y. 

Hart, Eliza L Poughkeepsie. 

Hannon, Emma G New York. 

Heenan, Lillian A Louisville, Ky. 

Hennessy, Josephine New York. 

Hennessy, Sarah E Providence. 

Herrick, Luella J Staatsburg. 

Herrick, Mary E 

Higgins, Catherine M Pennsylvania. 

Holt, Alice Brooklyn. 

Hope, Mary E Jersey City, N. J. 

Hubbard, Helen Brooklyn. 

Hughes, Mary S St. Louis, Mo. 

Isherwood, Constance New York. 

Jordan, Margaret Mobile, Ala. 

Judge, Lillian J New York. 

Judge, Mary Hoboken. 

Julienne, Clara T. (Sister of Mercy ; deceased) Jackson, Miss. 

Kavanagh, Catherine Rochester, N. Y. 

Kearney, Margaret New York. 

Keenan, Margaret Glens Falls. 

Keenan, Mary V " " 

Kent, Ellen C. (deceased) New York. 



!6o HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Kent, Julia New York. 

Konvalinka, Maria L Brooklyn. 

Leonard, Catherine S New York. 

Loughran, Mary E Westchester. 

Lynch, Ellen M. (deceased) Brooklyn. 

Lynch, Anna Fordham. 

Lynch, M. Regina (Sister of Charity) 

Mackey, Margaret (Sister of Charity) Brooklyn. 

McDevitt, Annie New York. 

Marshall, Catherine (deceased) 

McDevitt, Margaret 

Masterson, Emma M Harlem, N. Y. 

McCoy, Mary New York. 

McAvoy, Ellen Brooklyn, N. Y. 

McCarthy, Ellen New York. 

McCall, Mary Rutland, Vt. 

McElvany, Ellen New York. 

McChrystal, Eliza J 

McDermott, Mary A Brooklyn. 

McDonald, Anna E New York. 

McDonald, Sarah T. (deceased) 

McNespie, Annie 

McElhinny, Mary A 

McCarthy, Agnes Syracuse, N. Y. 

McGuire, Mary New York. 

McKenna, Mary E 

McKeon, Mary Rossville, S. I. 

McLaughlin, Elizabeth (deceased) Boston, Mass. 

Moffet, Mary New Haven, Conn. 

Moore, Alice L New York. 

tt tt 
Moore, Annie 

Moore, Mary 

Mulchinock, Alice S 

Mullane, Mary F 

Mullins, Annie 

a u 

Mulry, Ellen 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 161 

Murphy, Albertina New York. 

Murphy, Margaret A " " 

Murphy, Mary A " " 

Murphy, Catherine " " 

Murray, Helen Jane Kingsbridge, N. Y. 

Nolan, Mary Jane (deceased) New York. 

Noyes, Catherine V. St. John New Haven. 

Noyes, Mary E. (Sister of Charity) Piermont, N. Y. 

O'Neill, Margaret Paterson, N. J. 

O'Brien, Rebecca New York. 

O'Connor, Frances M " 

O'Leary, Margaret New Brighton, S. I. 

O'Donoghue, Margaret (Sister of Charity) New York. 

O'Donoghue, Julia (Sister of Charity; deceased) " " 

Olwell, Annie C " 

Olwell, Josephine L. (Religious of the Sacred Heart) ... " 

Olwell, Margaret C. (deceased) " " 

Olwell, Victoria " 

O'Rourke, Anna New York. 

O'Rorke, Catherine " 

O'Rorke, Margaret " 

Pearl, Agnes Poughkeepsie. 

Poole, Agnes Savannah. 

Postlewait, Clara Burlington, Iowa. 

Postlewait, Josephine " " 

Power, Mary Agnes New York. 

Quinn, Anna M Harlem. 

Quinn, Mary A. (deceased) " 

Quinn, Catherine " 

Redmond, Anna New York. 

Redmond, Catherine " " 

Redmond, Mary T " " 

Redmond, Matilda " " 



162 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Reilly, Anna T New York. 

Reilly, Amelia K. (deceased) " 

Reilly, Matilda (deceased) " 

Reilly, Anna A. (deceased) Jersey City. 

Reilly, Frances 

Reilly, Mary E " 

Reilly, Mary E New York. 

Reynaud, Aimee J Mount Vernon. 

Reynaud, Laura (Sister of Charity) 

Reynaud, Marie 

Riley, Mary New York. 

Richmond, Josephine Newark. 

Riley, Annie New York. 

Robbins, Mary New Orleans. 

Robbins, Catherine " 

Rossiter, Josephine (Religious of the Sacred Heart). . . .Paterson, N. J. 

Riley, Teresa New York. 

Romero, Juanita Matanzas, Cuba. 

Roux, Clara (deceased) New York. 

Ryan, Elizabeth Brooklyn. 

Ryan, Ella A Long Island. 

Ryan, Ida New York. 

Sadlier, Agnes L New York. 

Sadlier, Catherine 

Sadlier, Mary " 

Scallon, Ella Carmansville. 

Schroeder, Lena New York. 

Scott, Mary E " 

Shea, Maria L 

Sheridan, Maria Rochester, N. Y. 

Smith, Mary G New York. 

Spaulding, Harriet (Sister of Charity) 

Stacom, Maria J 

Staff, Rose M. " 

Thompson, Jane Brooklyn. 

Toal, Mary New York. 

Toal, Catherine V 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 163 

Vanderveer, Aletta Coney Island. 

Walsh, Mary A. (deceased) Brooklyn. 

Walsh, Veronica (Religious of the Sacred Heart) New York. 

Wier, Mary Haverstraw, N. Y. 

Waldron, Anna M Brooklyn. 

Ward, Maria New Haven. 

Ward, Margaret T " 

Willis, Maria New York. 

Wilson, Margaret (deceased) Baltimore. 

Wright, Mary Ann California. 

Donors of the Hughes Gold Medal for the Best Original 
Essay on Domestic Economy. 

Most Rev. John Hughes, D. D. Two medals of full value 1861. 

Very Rev. William Starrs, V. G 1862. 

" " Archdeacon Michael McCarron 1863. 

Mgr. William Quinn, V. G 1864. 

Rev. Felix Farrelly 1866. 

" Michael Riordan 1867. 

" Thomas Treanor 1868. 

His Eminence Cardinal John McCloskey 1869. 

Rev. James L. Conron 1870. 

" Michael Curran 187 1. 

" Charles Slevin 1872. 

" Thomas Mooney 1873. 

" William H. Clowry 1874. 

Mgr. Thomas S. Preston, V. G 1875. 

Rev. Felix Farrelly 1876. 

" Michael Curran 1876. 

" John F. Kearney 1877. 

Rev. Edward J. O'Reilly 1878. 

" Charles R. Corley 1S79. 

" John Edwards 1880. 

" Henry A. Brann, D. D 1881. 

" Michael C. O'Farrell 1882. 

" James H. McGean 1883. 

22 



!64 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



Recipients of Medal. 

Miss Catherine Beecham Rome, N. Y. 

" Cecilia S. Casey New York. 

" Olive Chatfield Elizabeth, N. J. 

" Mary Regina Doughty New York. 

" Julia M. Dunphy Newburg, N. Y. 

" Anastasia F. Donahue New York. 

" Margaret Gleason 

" Margaret Hennessy Providence, R. I. 

" Alice Holt Brooklyn, L. I. 

" Myra Hayes New York. 

" Helen Murray King's Bridge, N. Y. 

" Mary McGuire New York. 

" Catherine V. St. John Noyes New Haven, Conn. 

" Annie O'Rourke New York. 

" Josephine Postlewait, ex aequo .Washington, D. C. 

" Matilda Reilly New York. 

" Elizabeth G. Redington Maine. 

" Anita de Rivera Porto Rico. 

" Mary E. Reilly New York. 

" Maria Sheridan Rochester, N. Y. 

" Harriet A. Spaulding New York. 

" Agnes L. Sadlier 

" Jane P. Thompson Brooklyn, L. I. 

" Mary A. Walsh 

Hughes Silver Medal. 

Miss Mary P. Butler Savannah, Ga. 

" Teresa Coyne Flushing, L. I. 

" Mary Corkey Westchester, N. Y. 

" Mary Anne Donavan Kingston, N. Y. 

" Mary E. Fitzgerald New York. 

" Emma G. Hannon 

" Lillian Judge 

" Mary Keenan Glen's Falls, N. Y. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



I6 5 



Miss Alice T. Mulchinock New York. 

" Mary E. Noyes Piermont, N. Y. 

" Margaret O'Rorke New York. 

" Annie O'Rourke " 

" Josephine Postlewait Washington, D. C. 

" Annie Quinn New York. 

" Aimee J. Reynaud Mount Vernon, N. Y. 

Agnes L. Sadlier New York. 

" Harriet A. Spaulding " 

" Aletta Vandeveer Brooklyn, L. I. 

" Jane Wall Paterson, N. J. 

The Kelly-Hughes Gold Medal for Practical Domestic 

Economy. 

Miss Mary 1 )arragh Hindostan. 

" Aletta Vandeveer Brooklyn, L. I. 

" Mary Wier Haverstraw, N. Y. 

The Kelly-Hughes Silver Medal for Practical Domestic- 
Economy. 

Miss Norma Carpenter Norristown, Pa. 

Leonie Hawxhurst Mount Vernon, N. Y. 

" Ida Gomm Savannah, Ga. 

Curran Gold Medal for Mathematics. 

Miss Honora Cotter New York. 

Mary E. Dodge Perrysburg, Ohio. 

" Mary Gaynor Fayetteville, N. Y. 

" Helen Hubbard Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Mary E. Herrick Staatsburg, N. Y. 

" Annie O'Rourke New York. 

" Matilda Redmond " 

" Mary Quinn " " 

" Catherine Quinn " " 

" Aletta Vandeveer Brooklyn, N. Y. 



r 66 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



Curran Silver Medal for Mathematics. 

Miss Annie Bryan Brooklyn, N. Y. 

" Margaret Brady 

" Anastasia Donahue New York. 

" Mary Gaynor Fayetteville, N. Y. 

" Helen Hubbard Brooklyn, N. Y. 

" Luella Herrick Staatsburg, N. Y. 

" Lillian Judge New York. 

" Helen Murray Kingsbridge, N. Y. 

" Lillian C. Moulter Manlius, N. Y. 

" Aimee J. Reynaud Mount Vernon, N. Y. 

Seton Gold Medal for English Literature. 

Miss Margaret Cawley Trenton, N. J. 

" Mary E. Dodge Perrysburg, Ohio. 

" Anastasia Donahue, ex aquo New York. 

" Catherine Ferman 

" Henrietta Grosz, ex aqico 

" Lillian Judge 

" Laura Reynaud Mount Vernon, N. Y. 

" Aimee J. Reynaud, ex aquo 

" Aletta Vandeveer, ex aquo Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Seton Silver Medal for English Literature. 

Miss Margaret Brady Brooklyn, N. V. 

" Julia M. Dunphy Newburgh, N. Y. 

" Maria L. Feury New York. 

" Margaret Gleason 

" Marie Reynaud Mount Vernon, N. Y. 

The St. Cecilia Gold Medal for Vocal Music. 

Miss Norma Carpenter Norristown, Pa. 

" Anastasia Donahue New York. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 167 

Miss Teresa McDermott New York. 

" Catherine Vandeveer Brooklyn, N. Y. 

The St. Cecilia Silver Medal for Vocal Music. 

Miss Catherine F. V. Casey New York. 

" Evelyn C Grosz " 

" Teresa McDermott " 

Special Medal for Vocal Music. 

Miss Mary G. Smith New York. 

The St. Cecilia Gold Medal for Instrumental Music. 

Miss Caroline F. Doane New York. 

" Catherine Ferman " 

Tin: St. Cecilia Silver Medal for Instrumental Music. 

Miss Catherine F. V. Casey New York. 

" Teresa Quinn " 

Special Medal for Best Original Poem. 

Miss Mary E. Noyes Piermont, N. Y. 

" Mary Ellen Murray Kingsbridge, N. Y. 



THE END. 



